Bitmain Sponsors NBA’s Houston Rockets Through Subsidiary Antpool

One of the challenges facing cryptocurrency has been its adoption. Indeed, the campaign to push virtual currency to the mainstream has been slow but steady. Although it is in its infancy, virtual currency has become increasingly ubiquitous. This is as a result of the growing list of merchants that have adopted it around the world.

To do its “bit,” Bitmain Technologies, the largest supplier of cryptocurrency mining equipment in the world, is pushing the adoption of digital currency by signing a basketball deal. By connecting with the Houston Rockets of the NBA, Bitmain’s new deal could be groundbreaking.

Details of the Houston Rockets’ Deal

Bitmain’s mining subsidiary, Antpool, has signed the deal on behalf of Bitmain for an undisclosed amount. Sure, this new agreement will see to it that Bitmain becomes the major sponsor of the Houston Rockets in the 2017/2018 season. In a Facebook post on Wednesday, the company broke down the details of the deal, conspicuously leaving out the amount involved.

In the recent past, many blockchain and cryptocurrency companies have sponsored and organized conferences, road shows, and other campaigns. These were done in order to drive cryptocurrency adoption. Nonetheless, many enterprises have lent deaf ears to the calls. Though, Bitmain believes that this move will encourage basketball lovers to show more interests in cryptocurrency and its ilk.

Mass Adoption on the Way?

Proponents are pushing Bitcoin and the altcoins continuously through the tough landscape to scale up their adoption. However, people don’t use them every day. Indeed, that means that the industry is miles away from achieving mass adoption. However, institutional investors such as asset management giant BlackRock and New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), coffee chain Starbucks, and software giant Microsoft have all shown interests in it. In truth, their entry to the industry could be a major game-changer, and it will go to show that the alternative currency has gained global attention. As it is now, experts say that the currency has been exposed to “financial fringe.”

Indeed, Bitcoin ended 2017 with a stellar performance, exchanging at $19,000-20,000 USD. It nonetheless currently exchanges between $6,000-8,000.

Background Information On Bitmain

Headquartered in China, Bitmain Technologies is a cryptocurrency firm. Bitmain also  has many branches, including the US, Switzerland and Netherlands. Indeed, Bitmain’s Antpool operates one of the world’s largest BTC mining pools. Founded in 2013, Bitmain generates nearly $3-4B USD in profits. Though, the company has been heavily criticized in recent times. This is as a result of its dominance of the mining landscape. It seems contradictory, given that it is sector that canvasses support for operational and structural decentralization.