Klay Thompson Paid In Bitcoin

Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors guards and forwards, announced on Monday that they will give away $1 million in bitcoin from their next paychecks. Solidifying their stance on crypto currencies. In an announcement tweet in January, Thompson said that he believes bitcoin is the future of money.

They have partnered with Cash App, the money-transfer and bitcoin-buying app owned by Block, the financial services company headed by Bitcoin bull Jack Dorsey and formerly known as Square, to take care of their salary conversion. The app will also handle donations from the duo.

Thomson and Iguodala are the latest athletes to receive their compensation through peer-to-peer money created 13 years ago by the anonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. Due to massive gains against the U.S. dollar since its inception, Bitcoin enabled its holders to dramatically increase their purchasing power while fiat currencies lose value every year. Taking notice of this dynamic, athletes are demanding to be paid in bitcoin, a currency with programmatically limited issuance that cannot be altered.

In May 2019, NFL tackle Russel Okung tweeted “pay me in bitcoin.”. The athlete told Bitcoin Magazine in September that he wouldn’t stop until he was paid in bitcoin. In December 2020, Okung reached his goal one year and a half after making this request, and he did so by starting a movement. Through Strike, an app that handles Lightning payments, the athlete was indirectly compensated in bitcoin. Users of Strike can now access the service.