Carolina Panthers offensive sort out Russell Okung would be the first skilled athlete in any U.S. league to obtain Bitcoin as a type of fee.
WASHINGTON — NFL Carolina Panthers offensive sort out Russell Okung would be the first participant to be partly paid in Bitcoin.
In Could of 2019, he tweeted asking to be paid in Bitcoin. On Tuesday, he confirmed that he’ll certainly be paid by the digital forex.
“Paid in Bitcoin,” he tweeted.
Okung, who’s had a $13 million wage in 2020, will obtain half of it in Bitcoin, in keeping with a press launch from Strike, an organization that helps customers convert conventional cash to the cryptocurrency. He would be the first skilled athlete in any U.S. league to obtain Bitcoin as a type of fee.
“Cash is greater than forex; it’s energy,” the two-time Professional Bowler mentioned in a press release. “The way in which cash is dealt with from creation to dissemination is a part of that energy. Getting paid in Bitcoin is step one of opting out of the corrupt, manipulated economic system all of us inhabit.”
NFL Network mentioned Okung’s U.S. {dollars} paycheck will go into an account that is managed by Strike. There it can convert to Bitcoin earlier than going to Okung.
HOW DOES BITCOINS WORK?
Bitcoin is a digital forex that isn’t tied to a financial institution or authorities and permits customers to spend cash anonymously. The cash are created by customers who “mine” them by lending computing energy to confirm different customers’ transactions. They obtain bitcoins in alternate. The cash additionally might be purchased and offered on exchanges with U.S. {dollars} and different currencies. Some companies additionally settle for bitcoin, however its recognition has stalled out in recent times.
HOW BITCOINS ARE KEPT SECURE
The bitcoin community works by harnessing people’ greed for the collective good. A community of tech-savvy customers known as miners preserve the system sincere by pouring their computing energy right into a blockchain, a world operating tally of each bitcoin transaction. The blockchain prevents rogues from spending the identical bitcoin twice, and the miners are rewarded for his or her efforts by being gifted with the occasional bitcoin. So long as miners preserve the blockchain safe, counterfeiting shouldn’t be a problem.
HOW BITCOIN CAME TO BE
It’s a thriller. Bitcoin was launched in 2009 by an individual or group of individuals working beneath the identify Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin was then adopted by a small clutch of lovers. Nakamoto dropped off the map as bitcoin started to draw widespread consideration. However proponents say that doesn’t matter: The forex obeys its personal inside logic.
In 2016, An Australian entrepreneur stepped ahead and claimed to be the founding father of bitcoin, solely to say days later that he didn’t “have the braveness” to publish proof that he’s. Nobody has claimed credit score for the forex since.
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The Related Press contributed to this report.
