Bitcoin and crypto currencies – Breakthrough at the 2018 World Cup in Russia?

Today, Thursday 14 June, the 2018 FIFA World Cup will start in Russia. As in previous years, billions of euros and US dollars will be moved in this tournament as well. But what about crypto currencies? How crypto currencies could make it big in Russia:

Football is a business worth billions. Whether sponsoring, merchandising income or – especially in recent years – TV money: Huge sums are moved every day. A football World Cup, organised by FIFA, is therefore not only a celebration of football, but also of capitalism. It therefore makes sense to look at this major event from a crypto perspective.

The ICO hype reaches football

Just in time for the World Cup, an active football player jumps onto the crypto train for the first time – or is it the other way around? The Blockchain-Startup SelfSell in cooperation with the Colombian national player James Rodriguez launches the JR10 Token on the market. The coin can be purchased via the SelfSell app and is intended to give fans the opportunity to interact with the star player. The Bayern-München player, who is the biggest star in Colombia’s World Cup team, wants to further strengthen his own brand with his token. Crypto currencies have arrived in the football business.

Russia’s attitude to crypto currencies

The Russian attitude towards crypto currencies has always been ambivalent. On the one hand, websites with crypto content were blocked in the early days and a Bitcoin ban was openly considered. Last year, the attitude of the giant empire loosened. Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev announced that he was in favour of the legalisation of crypto currencies, including the legal framework for trade.

In April Russia published ICO guidelines for the first time. Russian President Vladimir Putin has also been publicly flirting for some time with the issue of his own, state-controlled crypto currency, the crypto-ruble. After all, the Russian Sberbank is already working on an ICO supported by the Russian government. Since this week the whole world is looking at Russia – time to take the next step.