18:41h CET

Harunustaspor, a Turkish amateur league club from Sakarya, completed the signing of 22-year-old Ömer Faruk K?ro?lu for 0.0524 bitcoin - ?440 at the current conversion rate - becoming the first ever football team to pay a players transfer fee using the Bitcoin cryptocurrency.

A first in football

Harunustaspors chairman, Haldun ?ehit, declared that the move was the first of its kind by a sports club.

"This is a first for me and for the world," K?ro?lu added, "as the chairman said, we are doing something new. I am open to new things."

K?ro?lu, who joined his new team-mates after the signing ceremony early today, said that he is open for innovations.

Turkish government warn about Bitcoin

Bitcoin has been on a very volatile track over the last few months. In the run-up to Christmas, the cryptocurrency climbed from around ?4,000 at the start of November to a high above ?15,320 in December.

In recent weeks the Bitcoin saw its fall back to around ?8,000, with daily movements between 5% and 10%.

The Turkish government has warned about the risks of using the cryptocurrency, claiming it carries risks as no legal foundations are available for transactions.