If you're looking to buy Sacramento Kings tickets or apparel online, you'll soon have a new payment option: Bitcoin.

The NBA franchise announced on Thursday that it now accepts Bitcoin for purchases made at its brick-and-mortar team store and will introduce the same policy for online ticket and merchandise sales by March 1.

While major businesses including Overstock and The Chicago Sun-Times have embraced the popular crypto-currency of late, the Kings appear to be the first major pro sports team to do so.

The Kings were purchased last May by basketball fan and longtime tech executive Vivek Ranadivé, so the franchise becoming the sports world's first team to hop on the Bitcoin bandwagon makes sense.

Ranadivé has long championed his "NBA 3.0" philosophy, an intriguing if somewhat vague idea of propelling the league to new heights via an increased use of technology and more global and community outreach.

Kings-related Bitcoin transactions will be processed through BitPay, which bills itself as the world's largest payment processor for virtual currencies.

“We are maniacally focused on creating the most seamless experience for our fans in all facets,” Ranadivé said in a press release announcing the Bitcoin payments. “With BitPay, we are able to implement a technology that allows our fans to make Kings-related purchases without physically reaching into their wallets. A major tenet of the NBA 3.0 philosophy is about utilizing technology for the betterment of the fan experience, and this is yet another step in that process.”