Today at June 14th, the FIFA World Cup 2018 will start in Russia. As in previous years, billions of euros and US dollars will be moved in this tournament again. But what about cryptocurrencies? How cryptocurrencies in Russia could come out big:

Football is a billions dollars business. Whether sponsoring, merchandise revenue or — especially in recent years — TV money: Every day huge amounts are moved. A FIFA World Cup, organized by the world governing body FIFA, is not only a celebration of football, but also of capitalism. Therefore, it makes sense to look at this major event sometimes from the crypto perspective.

The ICO hype reaches the football

Just in time for the World Cup an active football player jumps on the crypto train for the first time — or is it the other way around? Blockchain startup SelfSell is launching the JR10 token in cooperation with Colombian national player James Rodriguez . The coin can be acquired via the SelfSell app and should give the fans the opportunity to interact with the star player. With his token, the Bayern Munich player, who is the biggest star in Colombia’s World Cup team, wants to further consolidate his own brand. Cryptocurrencies have arrived in the football business.

Russia’s attitude to cryptocurrencies

The Russian attitude towards cryptocurrencies has always been ambivalent. On the one hand, especially in the early days, sites with crypto content were blocked and openly thought about a Bitcoin ban. Last year, the attitude of the giant empire relaxed. Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev said he was in favor of the legalization of cryptocurrencies and the legal framework for trade.

In April, Russia published ICO guidelines for the first time. For some time now, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been publicly toying with the publication of his own, state-controlled cryptocurrency , the crypto-ruble. After all, Russia’s 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.

Pay for tickets with crypto

The government’s partial restrictive measures on cryptocurrencies have not hurt the crypto-economy in Russia. The crypto market also developed away from the radar. Now many more crypto enthusiasts are probably traveling to Russia as guests — after all, the crypto-hot spots Japan and South Korea are represented with their teams at the World Cup.

How convenient that there are ways to pay for games with cryptocurrency. Although the tickets are not available at the official outlets with Bitcoin, Ether and Co., but via third party providers such as the Wirex and Epayments platforms. Wirex issues Visa debit cards, which allow not only Euro and US Dollar but also Bitcoin payments. Also ePayments offers cards that you can fill with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and BitcoinCash.

Accommodation and meals in Russia -Bitcoin or Ether are gladly taken

If the game of their own team in the Russian exclave Kaliningrad takes place on the Baltic Sea, the fans can also settle their hotel bill with cryptocurrencies. The hotel group Malina Apartments works together with the Russian crypto startup Free-Kassa. Via FKWallet a payment in 14 different crypto currencies is possible.

If you also want to get to know the Russian pub culture without having to let the ruble roll, you also have an option. In Moscow, St. Petersburg and many other big cities there are the Killfish bars where you can pay your beer in Bitcoin. The chain has been offering cryptocurrency payments since 2013, making it one of the pioneers of crypto adoption in Russia.

The World Cup also takes place at the Blockchain

After all, the World Cup, among other things, also runs on the Blockchain — in the form of a prediction game. CryptoCup is a prediction game based on the Ethereum Blockchain. Here crypto and football enthusiasts can predict the games. To do this, players create their own crypto-collectables. This is done by using individual ERC 721 tokens — the same standard used by CryptoKitties. If the predictions are stored in the tokens and the tournament starts, the tokens can be traded among each other.

Cryptocurrencies play their own role in the history of this World Cup. Not only crypto fans are curious as to whether crypto currencies can continue to prevail as a means of payment during the World Cup.