London Lions Basketball Team Now Accepts Shiba Inu

UK basketball team, the London Lions, has partnered with BitPay to enable its fans to buy merchandise and game tickets using Shiba Inu. 

According to an official announcement today, supporters of the London Lions will be allowed to connect more than 100 different cryptocurrency wallets, including MetaMask and Trust Wallet, in order to transact with the club using SHIB.

New Partnership alert 🚨👀
🤝 @BitPay

Read more about our partnership with BitPay – the world’s largest provider of bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment services. ⤵️https://t.co/C72RsnRuT1#wearelondon #BitPay

— London Lions (@LondonLions) February 1, 2023

Notably, BitPay will soon roll out a service that will enable fans to purchase tickets directly from its platform using Shiba Inu. Aside from Shiba Inu, the London Lions’ fans can also use other BitPay-supported crypto assets to purchase the club’s merchandise and game tickets. 

Some BitPay-supported cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Polygon (MATIC), Binance USD (BUSD), XRP (XRP), ApeCoin (APE), Dogecoin (DOGE), etc. 

The London Lions noted that its partnership with BitPay is imperative, given the growing popularity of basketball in the United Kingdom. The basketball team claims its fan base has surged tremendously, as it recently sold out the CopperBox Arena last month. 

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As the club’s fan base increases, the London Lions said it wants to prioritize its fans community and will work with BitPay to boost financial literacy around cryptocurrencies and effective money management.  

“We believe that sport is a vehicle for social impact, with money management and future-facing financial literacy being some of the most important pillars,” said Jonathan Lutzky, Operating Partner at 777 Partners (the owners of the London Lions). 

“Based on this, we’re excited to see this landmark relationship evolve, enabling fans to transact with the club in a new way while increasing awareness around cryptocurrency.” 

Commenting on the development, Merric Theobald, Vice President of Marketing at BitPay, said the London Lions had realized the potential of crypto, which can transform the UK sporting industry. 

Theobald highlighted some of the benefits of making payments with crypto, which include fast, secure, and low-cost payments. 

“Our goal at BitPay is to make accepting crypto a seamless process and increase adoption as we believe crypto is the future of payments,” Theobald added. 

It bears mentioning that the London Lions are the only professional basketball team in London. The team competes against top Europe’s elites and has featured in the prestigious EuroCup since 2007. 

Growing Acceptance of Shiba Inu Payments

The development further expands Shiba Inu’s use as a payment method. Thanks to BitPay, several businesses now accept Shiba Inu payments. As reported by TheCryptoBasic in August, prominent watchmaker Hublot partnered with BitPay to enable its customers to buy luxury watches from its online eBoutique using SHIB. 

Aside from BitPay, other cryptocurrency payment providers, including CoinGate and Binance Pay, have also given SHIB holders the opportunity to spend their tokens on major online stores. 

Last month, CoinGate announced a partnership with global SaaS platform Wix to enable merchants in selected European countries, including Spain, to accept Shiba Inu payments. 

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