Former Real Madrid striker, David Barral, makes transfer history as he became the first-ever professional player to be bought solely with virtual currency, Bitcoin.

Spanish third division side, DUX Internacional de Madrid, simply known as Inter Madrid, has officially signed the 37-year-old after teaming up with their new sponsors, Criptan that deals in cryptocurrency, The SUN reports.

Inter Madrid who are part of DUX gaming, eSports club owned by footballers Borja Iglesias and Real Madrid star, Thibaut Courtois, is yet to disclose the total value of the deal.

The Segunda Division B club went to Twitter to welcome their new signing and thank their sponsor.

“David Barral new player of DUX Internacional de Madrid, welcome to the infinite club! He becomes the first signing in history in cryptocurrencies. Thanks to Criptan, our new sponsor, for making it possible,” the club tweeted.

The 37-year-old, who made over 50 appearances playing in the Real Madrid reserve side, expressed his delight at his latest move. Barral has also played for Spanish La Liga clubs Sporting Gijon, Levante, and Racing Santander.

“Glad to join the project of @interdemadrid with eager ambition and responsibility to continue competing and achieve important challenges in my sports career,” he wrote on his official Twitter handle.

What you should know

• A similar deal was when a Harunustaspor, Turkish amateur side, paid 0.0524 Bitcoin (£385) plus 2,500 Turkish Lira in cash (£841) for Omer Faruk Kıroğlu in 2018.
• Back in December, Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Russell Okung became the first high-profile athlete in the United States to be paid in bitcoin.
• Similarly, the Mark Cuban-owned Dallas Mavericks became the second NBA franchise to accept Bitcoin as a means of payment for both game tickets and merchandise.

The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock Inc is adding bitcoin futures as an eligible investment asset class according to a recent filing by the leading asset management company in a move to bring crypto to its customers.

BlackRock, in a report credited to Reuters disclosed that it was using such asset class as bitcoin derivatives for its two funds namely; BlackRock Global Allocation Fund and BlackRock Strategic Income Opportunities.

Such funds listed above will invest only in cash-settled bitcoin futures traded on commodity exchanges registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the company said in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday.

Recall some weeks ago, BlackRock CEO, Larry Fink had disclosed, the flagship crypto is on his company’s radar amid the rapid gains recorded by Bitcoin this year alone.

Speaking recently at the Council on Foreign Relations alongside Mark Carney, former Governor of the Bank of England, Fink said, “Bitcoin has caught the attention and the imagination of many people. Still untested, pretty small relative to other markets.”

• BlackRock is the world’s biggest asset manager with about $7.4 trillion in assets under management as of the end of Q4 2019.
• Its massive size allows it to do what no other asset management on planet earth can do.

Upshot

Also, the BlackRock CIO of Fixed Income buttressed his bias, on why Cryptos are here to stay, taking into account its role in payments among the world’s millennials.

“I think cryptocurrency is here to stay and I think it is durable and you’ve seen the central banks that have talked about digital currencies. I think digital currency and the receptivity, particularly millennials’ receptivity to technology and cryptocurrency is real. Digital payments systems are real, so I think Bitcoin is here to stay,” he said.

The current market condition at the crypto market has made traders and investors suffer heavy losses on the account that roughly $638.55 million worth of crypto positions disappeared into thin air within 24 hours.

The mass liquidation of such crypto holdings, according to data retrieved from Bybt, showed such occurred before the flagship crypto dipped from $37,300 to around $34,400 at press time.

What this means: Crypto traders have been experiencing high price swings, since the person expected to lead the U.S Treasury, Janet Yellen referred to crypto as of “particular concern” when it comes to terrorist financing and money laundering.

• The incoming finance leader believes that most cryptos are used for illicit financing.
• She raised such bias during her Senate confirmation hearing some days ago.
• At the time of drafting this report, Bitcoin’s volatility ensured that no firm market direction was in control, as Bitcoin fluctuated around $34,800.

A highly respected crypto expert, Ki-Young Ju, disclosed the ongoing activity in the ever-volatile Crypto market on his Twitter feed, by critically hinting that buying pressure has paused in recent days.

“People trade $BTC with low leverage, open interest is skyrocketing, and the long-short ratio looks neutral. Strong on-chain buying signals that have driven this bull market hasn’t come up so far. Bitcoin might retest 30k, so I don’t have any position now in this uncertain market,” Ki-Young Ju said.

People trade $BTC with low leverage, open interest is skyrocketing, and the long-short ratio looks neutral.

Strong on-chain buying signals that have driven this bull market hasn't come up so far. $BTC might retest 30k, so I don't have any position now in this uncertain market. pic.twitter.com/aSsA0M4k6r

— Ki Young Ju 주기영 (@ki_young_ju) January 17, 2021

Also, some days ago, leading the United Kingdom’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, recently issued a piece of stern advice on crypto investments.

The statement highlighted the risks associated with investing in Bitcoin and other leading crypto assets and warned the public there were high chances all their funds could be lost;

“The FCA is aware that some firms are offering investments in crypto assets or lending or investments linked to crypto assets, that promise high returns.

“Investing in crypto assets, or investments and lending linked to them generally involves taking very high risks with investors’ money. If consumers invest in these types of products, they should be prepared to lose all their money.”