Washington Nationals to ‘Explore’ Terra’s UST Stablecoin in DAO-Approved Partnership Deal

The MLB team’s deal with the Terra network is even bigger than previously reported.

AccessTimeIconFeb 9, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 7:18 p.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

The Washington Nationals baseball team said Wednesday it will “explore” in-stadium payments of Terra’s UST stablecoin as part of a nearly $40 million sponsorship.

The thrust of that deal centers on exclusive seating naming rights. For the next five years, the ballpark’s home plate VIP lounge will be called “The Terra Club” and feature crypto branding prominently.

  • Philadelphia 76ers President on Crypto Ad Patch Deal With Crypto.com
    09:28
    Philadelphia 76ers President on Crypto Ad Patch Deal With Crypto.com
  • European Football NFT Platform Sorare Raises $680M Series B
    04:32
    European Football NFT Platform Sorare Raises $680M Series B
  • NFL Quarterback Matt Barkley’s Crypto Journey
    03:42
    NFL Quarterback Matt Barkley’s Crypto Journey
  • Matt Barkley’s Advice for Professional Athletes Entering the Crypto Market
    05:30
    Matt Barkley’s Advice for Professional Athletes Entering the Crypto Market
  • “The Nationals continue to push the envelope,” Mark D. Lerner, managing principal owner of the Washington Nationals, said in a blog post. “We are excited to partner with Terra to name our most exclusive club and explore bringing powerful new fan experiences to Nationals Park, including the use of UST cryptocurrency to make purchases.”

    CoinDesk preempted the official announcement with a cheeky investigative essay published Tuesday that correctly predicted the tie-up.

    Accepting UST payments would place the Nationals in a small but growing field of crypto-friendly sports stadiums. Mark Cuban’s Dallas Mavericks basketball team began taking DOGE last year. Meanwhile, fellow National Basketball Association franchise the Sacramento Kings tapped bitcoin back in 2014.

    The Nationals sponsorship is also notable because of its crossover with crypto governance. The Terra decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) overwhelmingly voted in favor of partnering with a mystery U.S. sports franchise to the tune of nearly $40 million. Holders of the network's native LUNA token went into the vote, which concluded Tuesday, knowing nearly every aspect of the sponsorship – save the name of their prospective partner.

    “This first-of-its-kind partnership between a DAO and a sports franchise opens a new world of opportunities for bringing crypto and DeFi to the masses,” Do Kwon, the founder of Terraform Labs, said in a statement. “By approving this sponsorship deal, the community has a new way to engage and educate the public, including the policy makers doing important work in Washington, D.C., about decentralized money and the burgeoning technology that underlies it.”

    Kwon and Terraform Labs are both currently under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on possible charges that the Mirror Protocol, developed by Terraform, allows synthetic stocks to trade in violation of U.S. law.

    The SEC served Kwon a subpoena last year during a cryptocurrency conference, though he denied he had been served until he decided to file a lawsuit against the SEC alleging the regulator violated norms in serving him the subpoena.

    UPDATE (Feb. 9, 2022, 17:15 UTC): Adds SEC lawsuit context.

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

    Danny Nelson

    Danny is CoinDesk's Managing Editor for Data & Tokens. He owns BTC, ETH and SOL.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.