In an English Premier League first, seven football clubs will be paid in bitcoin for sponsorship deals with online trading and investment platform eToro.
Brighton, Cardiff City, Crystal Palace, Leicester City, Newcastle United, Southampton, and Tottenham Hotspur have all decided to take the risk of taking payment in the volatile cryptocurrency.
In return, eToro will see its branding at the clubs, including through matchday perimeter advertising and a presence on digital channels.
EToro claims that crypto, and the blockchain technology that underpins it, can improve football and the world of sports, addressing things such as ticket touting, problems with transparency, and providing a guarantee of authenticity for merchandise.
David Thomas, commercial director, Southampton, says: "We look forward to working with them [eToro] and learning more from them about the potential that cryptocurrency and blockchain technology can have in football.”