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Can Bitcoin Build a Football Club?
Can Bitcoin Build a Football Club?
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0:00
This is Real Bedford. Pronounced Reál - just like Real Madrid.
0:05
But while Madrid, the world's most valuable team, built its empire on trophies.
0:09
Real Bedford is trying to grow its footprint using Bitcoin.
0:17
The non-league football club - soccer club to American audiences - is about two hours north of
0:23
London. In 2022, it was bought by Bitcoin podcaster Pete McCormack.
0:28
Pete wasn't just trying to build another local football club.
0:31
He wanted to build one with a global audience.
0:34
I'm from Bedford here, and we are the largest or second largest town in the country that's never
0:40
had a football club in the football league. I was kind of looking at trying to figure out why,
0:44
And so I kind of made us the rebel anarchist Bitcoin team.
0:47
Crypto is broad label for digital assets built on blockchain networks. Bitcoin was
0:52
the first and remains the largest by market value.
0:55
I'm a Bitcoin maximus. It's the only cryptocurrency that matters. We
0:58
wanted to be the anti-establishment football club, and so if you're anti-establishment,
1:02
you care about things that the government can't interfere with. One of those is Bitcoin,
1:06
and so we made that a central component of the club. Hence, when you look around the stadium,
1:11
the sponsorship and advertising you'll see will be from Bitcoin companies.
1:14
The idea soon attracted two of crypto’s best-known investors. In 2024, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss,
1:21
the billionaire founders of crypto exchange Gemini, invested $4.5 million in Real Bedford.
1:28
Gemini is now also one of the club's sponsors.
1:31
But the ambition goes beyond sponsorship. McCormack wants Real Bedford to become a global
1:36
Bitcoin community. The club estimates around a quarter of its core fanbase is based outside
1:41
of Bedford. They make up an even larger audience online - around 40% and on some matchdays, that
1:48
global community turns up in person, for what has become part football match, part Bitcoin meetup.
1:55
My name is Martin, and I come from Slovakia. And this is my sixth time
1:58
here in Real Bedford. I heard there is a Bitcoin club being built in
2:03
Bedford. Bitcoin gave me a lot of freedom in my life, and I'm trying to give back.
2:08
Are you more interested in the Bitcoin than the football? Where does your interest lie?
2:12
No, I'm interested in both. I'm a Bitcoiner and I'm a football supporter.
2:16
That is the business logic behind Real Bedford. Bitcoin has turned a local
2:20
football club into something visible to supporters far beyond Bedford.
2:24
But attracting a global community is one thing. Running the club day to
2:28
day is another. That job belongs to Real Bedford CEO Emma Firman.
2:32
Worked with Pete doing other things and then obviously he purchased the football club
2:36
and then sort of said, 'can you help me run a football club?'.
2:38
I was like, 'Pete I absolutely hate football, what you doing?' And here we are four seasons later.
2:43
Firman now runs one of the most unusual football clubs in the country.
2:46
Supporters can pay for tickets, food and merchandise using Bitcoin.
2:51
Something that remains rare in football, even at higher levels of the game.
2:55
But on a normal matchday, most still pay the usual way.
2:58
If we just have like the normal fans in, they're normally cash or paying with card,
3:03
but we do have the people that do want to pay by Bitcoin and we're more than happy to accommodate them.
3:08
Less than 20% I'd say, on match days. It all depends on the type of event we've got.
3:13
I've met people from all over the globe that have travelled in just because it's the Bitcoin team.
3:17
Having the kind of Bitcoin thing if you like it just makes the club completely unique.
3:22
Bitcoin also reaches parts of the club’s payroll.
3:25
Some of our players get paid either full Bitcoin or part Bitcoin. Even people that we employ,
3:29
I think people just intrigued, so they're the curious, and it's something a bit different.
3:33
At first glance, it looks like Bitcoin is funding the football club.
3:37
But the reality is more complicated.
3:40
Obviously, Bitcoin's price is fairly volatile as an asset class. Do you
3:45
think that that's a risk to the business model for the football club?
3:48
I mean that volatility's everywhere now.
3:50
There's volatility in our own currency.
3:51
I think Bitcoin is just another volatile part of a volatile world.
3:55
And as someone who owns a lower league football club,
3:57
do you think that is a sustainable way to fund the club, through Bitcoin then?
4:02
Well, we don't fund the club through Bitcoin. We fund the club through sponsorships,
4:07
ticket sales, people spending money here when they come here, merchandise.
4:10
So you're not having to put any more money beyond the original purchase?
4:14
Well, we raised $4.5 million, £3.6 million from Cameron and Tyler Winkelvoss, and so that
4:21
sits within our treasury. Yes, we dip into that over the season to support the club.
4:25
This is an investment. Think of it like a startup. You raise money with a target.
4:30
And what's the target? Well, it's for promotions. And so, as a startup, all you're
4:34
trying to do with startups is move quicker than your capital base allows you to. That's why you
4:38
take investment, and we will take more rounds of investment as we look to grow this club.
4:42
But not everyone is convinced the model can succeed.
4:45
You've done a podcast with Pete McCormack,
4:47
what do you think of the project that he's building over at Real Bedford?
4:50
I think it's intriguing. I think he's trying to ride two horses at the same time.
4:56
You know, Pete will say that he's not a crypto fan, he's a Bitcoin fan,
5:00
and he's very much at pains to say that they are completely
5:04
independent. As far as the football club is concerned, here I'm a bit more skeptical.
5:11
If we take a look at what happened with Crawley Town, for example, they were acquired by two
5:17
American evangelical supporters of crypto. Their controlling company was
5:22
called Wagmi United, and Wagmi stands for We're All Going to Make It. Well, they didn't make it.
5:28
The project brought attention, NFTs and global ambition — but also a chaotic first season,
5:34
with the club fighting to avoid dropping into a lower league.
5:37
The initial curiosity factor towards that, that dissipated very quickly,
5:43
because people are saying, 'well, you know, we're more interested in what's happening on the pitch.'
5:48
Crawley eventually won promotion to League One — moving up to the third tier of English
5:53
football. But the lesson was still clear: digital hype can open doors and attract
5:58
attention. It cannot replace results, local trust or a sustainable football operation.
6:04
It's been tough. We get all called all different kind of names. I think we've earned our place,
6:09
so I think we're a bit more accepted this year than we have probably in previous seasons.
6:13
What does success look like for the club and for you? Is it promotion? Is
6:17
it sustainability? Or is it to grow the awareness of Bitcoin?
6:22
It's certainly not the latter. For me, success is we get to a level, the football league,
6:27
whereby we can build a new stadium, we can build an academy, and we can develop
6:31
high quality players in this town, both for our for our boys and girls. That's success for me.
6:36
You have to go through some kind of ordeal in football. As Bitcoin investors and enthusiasts,
6:42
we also have to go through that ordeal simultaneously. But myself,
6:48
I'm here for the long ride. It's great fun.
6:51
Real Bedford may never become the next Manchester United. But its experiment
6:55
is testing a bigger idea: whether a small local club can use a global digital community
7:00
to attract the kind of capital, sponsors and attention that would normally be out of reach.
7:06
If it works, Bitcoin will not just have sponsored a football club. It will have helped build one.
