English football club Real Bedford (RBFC) has added a whopping $4.5 million worth of Bitcoin to its treasury. The club's chairman, Peter McCormack, who also happens to be a Bedford resident and well-known crypto podcaster, announced the purchase of 66.9 BTC at an average price of $67,220 per coin on Twitter.
The exact purchase price was a very meme-friendly $4,500,420.69, he said.
McCormack added the Bitcoin investment is part of Real Bedford FC's plan to climb the ranks of English football to reach the Premier League.
McCormack took over the club in 2021, when it was a tenth-tier club. Since then, the club has won the Bedfordshire Senior Trophy and the Division One title—which earned the team a promotion to the ninth-tier Premier Division. It's still got a long way to go to reach the Premier League, which is the top level in England.
While 15.8 BTC have been earmarked for soccer-related expenses, the majority of the funds will be used to improve facilities and support community-building initiatives. The club's total Bitcoin holdings are now worth over $5.37 million.
The crypto community applauded Real Bedford FC's move. Microstrategy chairman Michael Saylor from MicroStrategy gave a nod of approval with a “Real ₿edford” reply. The club's Bitcoin investment is particularly timely, given the cryptocurrency's recent surge to around $68,000.
Real ₿edford 🧡
— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) July 22, 2024
Since McCormack took over the club, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, co-founders of crypto exchange Gemini, have also thrown their support behind RBFC.
In 2022, Gemini became a multi-year sponsor of the club. And earlier this month, they extended the sponsorship for another five years. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss also joined McCormack as co-owners of RBFC earlier this year, investing $4.5 million in Bitcoin into the club—the largest crypto investment ever made into a UK football club outside the professional leagues.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.