Turkish football minnows claim first Bitcoin-funded transfer deal
Harunustaspor look to have secured their place in football history.
A Turkish amateur football club claim to have achieved a world first after using Bitcoin to pay a transfer fee.
Harunustaspor, who compete in Sakarya First Division Group B, paid 0.0524 Bitcoin to sign Omer Faruk Kiroglu, in addition to 2,500 Turkish Lira.
The cryptocurrency is known for being volatile, with the amount paid in this transfer equating to approximately £386 at the current conversion rate, meaning the total deal is worth £853.
Harunustaspor chairman Haldun Sehit claimed the deal was the first of its kind by a football club.
“We did it to make a name for ourselves in the country and the world. We are proud of this,” Sehit told Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.
Twenty-two-year-old Kiroglu added: “This is a first for me and for the world. As the chairman said, we are doing something new. I am open to new things.”
Bitcoin was created in 2009 and is the world’s first decentralised digital currency.
