A Top Italian Football Club is Taking Payments in This Cryptocurrency

AS Roma – a top Italian soccer club – is now accepting payment in DigitalBits (XDB), the self-described “leading blockchain for brands.”

Payments will be taken across five of the club’s flagship retail stores, including Via del Corso, Piazza Colonna, Ottaviano, Porta di Roma, and Fan zone at Stadio Olimpico.

AS Roma Accepts Crypto

Per a press release shared with CryptoPotato, customers will be able to use DigitalBits to purchase branded AS Roma merchandise. 

Payments can be made through the AstraX mobile wallet by scanning a QR code, at which point payments are processed within a few seconds, and customers are given cash-back through XDB. They are processed by the DigitalBits blockchain, and Coinbar pay processing provides additional support. 

“This is a big step for the DigitalBits community as we look to drive the adoption of crypto and Web3,” said Daniele Mensi, Managing Director at DigitalBits Foundation. “As one of the premier football clubs in the world with millions of fans worldwide, it is the perfect next step in this product-focused partnership to provide a consumer-friendly onboarding experience to the next generation of web3 users.”

Making crypto payments mainstream is an ongoing challenge for many businesses and brands as they attempt to foster cryptocurrency adoption beyond mere speculation. Economics experts – including central bankers – have often criticized Bitcoin and other cryptos for being unable to function as a means of exchange due to their high price volatility. 

Many businesses have attempted to remedy this problem by providing services that convert one’s crypto into fiat at the point of sale. Most of these solutions require centralized custody of consumer’s crypto, however – defeating much of the purpose of blockchain’s peer-to-peer technology. 

Sports Teams Onboarding Crypto

AS Roma’s partnership makes it the first professional football organization to ape into blockchain tech. “This next step will expand on what it means for fans to connect to their teams and merge blockchain technology into the mainstream,” said the organization.

In November 2021, the Australian baseball club Perth Heat onboarded a complete Bitcoin standard, accepting payments and converting much of its balance sheet into BTC.