Premier League club Southampton will reportedly receive performance bonuses in the form of Bitcoin after signing a new sponsorship deal with Coingaming Group.
The Saints, currently 14th in the Premier League, are said to have agreed terms on a three-year deal with Coingaming Group, a hub for bitcoin gaming brands, as the club's main partner that will see Sportsbet.io continue as the club's shirt sponsor.
The betting website was drafted in as the club's shirt sponsor on a one-year deal at the start of the current campaign after negotiations with Chinese brand LD Sports collapsed.
According to City AM, the deal was concluded last weekend and is 'the biggest sponsorship agreement' in Southampton history.
The deal reportedly includes the option for Ralph Hasenhuttl's side to be paid their performance-based bonuses in Bitcoin at the end of every season.
Bitcoin is the world's biggest cryptocurrency and was launched in 2009. It has more than doubled in price this year and hit a record of $62,575 (£45,511) on Tuesday morning.
Southampton's chief commercial officer, David Thomas, said: 'The team at Sportsbet.io have built a successful business by challenging convention and disrupting the market, but in a responsible way, and their approach to our partnership with them has been no different,' he said.
'In a short timeframe they've proven to be innovative, forward thinking and extremely supportive of the club, our fans and the wider community, and we've welcomed the opportunity to develop and promote safe gambling messages together.
'As such they have become valued partners and we look forward to the next chapter together.'
The use of Bitcoin is growing within sport and, during their time in the Premier League, Watford used a partnership with Sportsbet.io to allow fans to purchase club merchandise with the cryptocurrency in 2019.
Several Premier League clubs have also trialed cryptocurrency for player transfers and seven clubs even launched cryptocurrency trials in the past.
Tottenham, Leicester, Newcastle, Southampton, Cardiff, Brighton and Crystal Palace all set up digital wallets with an online trading platform.
At the time the platform said it was in 'no doubt' the currency will eventually replace sterling in the multi-billion pound transfer industry.
The bitcoin system also helped clubs tackle ticket touting and counterfeit merchandising, according to online trading firm eToro, which paid clubs to take part.
Blockchain and cryptocurrencies have no physical form and exist only as strings of computer code.