NFL Player to Convert Salary to Bitcoin

Sean Culkin is following in the footsteps of Russell Okung, an offensive lineman for the Carolina Panthers, in converting his salary to Bitcoin. Okung chose to do 50% of his salary, but Culkin had chosen to push his chips "all in" and plans to convert 100% of his salary to Bitcoin. I expect you will see more NFL athletes, who typically have short careers, try to maximize their income to capitalize on the explosive growth of cryptocurrencies.

Trevor Lawrence, the projected #1 draft pick in the 2021 NFL Draft has signed an endorsement deal with Blockfolio and is receiving his entire league signing bonus in Bitcoin. With the amazing success that the NBA is having with their NFT offering (Top Shot) I think you will see the NFL follow in their footsteps soon. There is too much money to be made to miss this boat.

US Based Crypto Platforms Pros & Cons

I have worked with most of the major, US based exchanges and have compiled a list below of their various strengths and weaknesses. These are merely my observations and opinions based on my experiences, as I am not compensated by any of the exchanges.

Coinbase

Pros: largest US based crypto platform based on trade volume. Good reputation when it comes to security. Lots of cryptocurrencies available to buy/sell (recently added Cardano, SushiSwap, Polygon, etc.). Variety of products offered (Coinbase, Coinbase Pro, Coinbase Prime, Coinbase Commerce, Coinbase Custody, etc.). 98% of assets are in cold storage.

Cons: horrible customer support. Higher fees than Gemini, Kraken and Binance. Does not currently offer staking.

Kraken

Pros: attractive web user interface and mobile app. Offers staking for some cryptocurrencies. Generally faster account verification times. Access to cryptos like PolkaDot that Coinbase does not support. Support for fiat currencies (such as Canadian Dollars and Japanese Yen) that Coinbase does not support. Excellent reputation for security.

Cons: extremely difficult for US customers to deposit/withdraw money (wire transfers only). This is a show stopper for me because I don't want to pay outgoing wire transfer fees for my deposits. You can transfer crypto to Kraken from other exchanges to take advantage of their staking offerings. I was told by a Kraken support agent that they are adding support for ACH for American customers in 2-3 weeks as of March 24, 2021.

Gemini

Pros: lower fees than Coinbase. Backed by the Winklevoss twins. Gemini Earn offers the chance to earn interest on your crypto holdings.

Cons: much lower volume than Coinbase, Kraken or Binance. Extremely long wait times for account verification (took 5-6 weeks for mine). They require a wire transfer for the initial deposit.

Binance.US

Pros: lowest fees of the major trading platforms. Easily the largest exchange in the world; however, they have a separate site for American customers (Binance.US). Excellent exchange score - based on data from CoinMarketCap.com. Access to over 50 cryptocurrencies. Staking is offered for cryptos such as Algorand, Cosmos, etc. Offers ACH, debit card and wire transfer options for moving money (although the ACH option did not work for me).

Cons: parent company is based in Malta, not the United States. I generally prefer to use US based exchanges because of things that have happened in India, Morocco, Nigeria, etc. I have no idea what would happen if the US government cracked down on foreign exchanges. Binance.US is located in San Francisco, California. Huobi and Binance do a lot of business in China.

Future Looks Very Bright for NFT

In 2017 Canadian developer Dapper Labs launched CryptoKitties, an Ethereum based blockchain game allowing users to collect, breed and sell digital cats. It was so successful that it slowed down the entire Ethereum network. Each CryptoKitty has a unique NFT (non-fungible token). While this whole concept may sound a bit silly to some people, other companies have made billions of dollars with similar concepts. Epic Games' Fortnite business model was to give the game away for free, then charge for things like costumes, weapons, the Battle Pass, etc. This model was extremely successful.

When I am speaking with "older" investors they often cannot comprehend why someone would want to purchase something non-tangible, but it appears this is the way things are moving. Dapper Labs latest product, NBA Top Shot, is a blockchain-based game that allows customers to collect NBA highlights for their favorite players. It has already achieved sales of over $230 million in one month. The entry level packs of video highlights, priced at $9, are constantly sold out -- and Dapper Labs is struggling to deal with the overwhelming demand.

If you are an investor and have some money on the sidelines I would recommend taking a good look at businesses involved in NFT products and cryptocurrency. These investments will likely outperform more traditional investments in the upcoming years. If you would like to meet to discuss crypto and/or NFT feel free to reach out to me at https://www.cryptocurrencysolutions.info/book-online