CRYPTO USED FOR PRIZE MONEY FIRST TIME IN PICKLEBALL HISTORY
| July 11, 2023
The PPA Tour has announced that it will offer athletes the option to be paid in cryptocurrency for winnings amassed at tournaments.
SAN CLEMENTE, CA (July 13th, 2021) – The PPA Tour’s Orange County Cup marked the first time a pickleball player chose to receive prize money in the form of cryptocurrency. The World’s #1 player, Ben Johns, who came away with close to $10,000 in payout for the event, elected to be paid a portion of his winnings in Ethereum. The ETH was paid out Monday as recompense for Johns’ Triple Crown – the ultimate triumph in pro pickleball which refers to taking the title in all three divisions: Singles, Gender Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
Johns said he does not currently have any plans to use the cryptocurrency but will lay it away for the future. However, Connor Pardoe, commissioner of the PPA, said that the PPA Tour will continue to offer cryptocurrency as a form of payout for players upon request. The idea of awarding prize money in this unusual way was proffered by Johns himself, who acknowledged that he is highly interested in cryptocurrency’s evolution and future applications. The exact amount paid to Johns totaled 2.564359 ETH. As measured by market value, Ethereum is the largest cryptocurrency in the world after Bitcoin.
The Orange County Cup took place in San Clemente, California, from June 24-27 and attracted thousands of players and fans from all over the nation who flocked to the event to compete, support, and enjoy four days of power-packed action and fun. The jury is still out on whether any professional athletes besides Johns will opt to forgo their cold hard cash in favor of cryptocurrency. Still, the concept has been launched and is, at the very least, an intriguing idea.
