On Dec. 27 the Houston Rockets challenged the Boston Celtics. During the game’s intermission, two contestants participated in a contest called the Antpool Red Planet Race. The participants played a game that involved ‘mining’ bitcoin cash (BCH) on the court floor in the hope of winning $300 worth of BCH.
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Houston Rockets Fans Get a Taste of Bitcoin Cash Mining
Bitcoin technology got some mainstream attention during the Rockets and Celtics match on Thursday. The mining operation Antpool was in attendance and had a booth set up in the arena, which showcases the benefits of blockchain technology and digital assets. Back in September, mining rig manufacturer Bitmain announced the company would be sponsoring the Houston Rockets and pledged they would help invest upwards of $500 million into the Texas economy. At the time, the press release stated that Antpool would be allowed to host its exhibit inside the Toyota Center during the second week of January 2019. However, pictures stemming from Thursday’s Rockets game suggests that Antpool was allowed to at least set up the exhibition early.
When the deal was first inked, Antpool’s overseas operations manager, Haijiao Li, explained the exhibit would be used to teach people visiting the Toyota Center about the innovation behind cryptocurrencies. “As far as professional sports teams go, the Houston Rockets are legendary across the globe, and what better way to continue the momentum of our U.S. expansion than partnering with the prolific Houston Rockets basketball club, the No. 1 team in China,” explained Haijiao Li during the announcement.
Antpool’s Red Planet Race
Bitcoin Cash fans will also be pleasantly surprised by the number of BCH symbols displayed at the Toyota Center. Furthermore, during the intermission at the Rockets vs Celtics game, two contestants helped ‘mine’ bitcoin cash on the court floor in order to win a prize. During the start of the intermission, the audio played the Beastie Boys track “Intergalactic” while showing a large physical bitcoin being mined.
Then the announcer explained the rules to the contest, which was dubbed the Antpool Red Planet Race. The two contestants had to receive two deposits while ‘mining’ with Antpool’s mining operation on the BCH chain and then plant ‘red rockets’ flags in the red rocks. The contest lasted less than 45 seconds and one of the ‘space cadets’ took home $300 dollars worth of BCH.
Check out Bitcoin Cash (BCH) mining during the @HoustonRockets game with @AntPoolofficial! #RunAsOne #NBA #Bitcoin #BCHPLS ? pic.twitter.com/jwex5Ksv0h
— Bitcoin.com Official (@BitcoinCom) December 28, 2018
Bitcoin Cash fans on social media and on forums like r/btc were pumped to see BCH bolstered at a mainstream sports arena. The news also follows the recent Litecoin Foundation’s UFC sponsorship, which will be used to advertise Litecoin symbols on the arena’s canvas floor at the Ultimate Fighting Championship match on Dec. 29. Cryptocurrency supporters believe sponsorships like these will further progress mainstream awareness over time.
What do you think about Bitmain’s Antpool sponsoring the Houston Rockets? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.
Images via Shutterstock, NBA, Houston Rockets, Antpool, and the Toyota Center in Texas.
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