Shark Tank veteran and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, responded with two words to a fan’s tweet asking if tickets for the basketball team’s games were purchasable with Bitcoin: “Next season.” Cuban, backer of multiple multi-million dollar Bitcoin investment funds and owner of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, confirmed to Fortune that the Mavericks would accept cryptocurrencies as payment soon.
Though the move is thrilling to Bitcoin speculators, Cuban isn’t the first sports team to accept cryptocurrency. The Sacramento Kings began accepting Bitcoin back in 2014. The expansion of the market has led to growing pains that may make Mavs fans hesitate, as the transaction fee for Bitcoin is over $25, up from 30 cents a year ago. The currency and its counterparts are notoriously volatile as well, meaning some consumers may accidentally over or under pay for their tickets while the transaction processes. Citing these concerns, video game platform Steam ceased accepting cryptocurrencies last year.
This announcement from Cuban emerged amid a major dip in the cryptocurrency market, losing 20% in a matter of hours following news of a crackdown in Asian markets. Ethereum, Cuban’s other major investment, lost nearly a quarter of its value in the selloff. Going forward, it seems that the common knowledge about cryptocurrencies holds true: volatility, unpredictability, and excitement reign at every corner.
