According to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine, Bitwage, a payroll service provider specializing in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, has partnered with Luana Pinheiro, making her the first female Ultimate Fighting Championship to be paid in Bitcoin ( UFC) fighter.
Pinheiro is ranked 15th in strawweight combat and will also be the first Latin American athlete to receive a Bitcoin salary. The Brazilian is 10-1-0 and is currently on an eight-match winning streak. Previously, Pinheiro’s boyfriend Matheus Nicolau (18-2), who was seventh in the flyweight UFC class, also teamed up with Bitwage in March.
As such, both fighters adopted Bitcoin standards and noted the low time preference associated with training, explaining how this outweighed their finances and patience.
“I don’t think there will be a problem with Bitcoin going down or up,” Pinheiro said. “If it doesn’t fluctuate, it doesn’t go up. Think about it: it takes an average person 10-15 years to get a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, so my time preference here is just as long, if not longer.”
Nicolau echoed his partner’s views on low time preference, but also spoke about the need for him to take action, not only for his own future, but also for his future family.
“I am very pleased that Luana and I have entered the Bitcoin Standard together, and I am very confident that the bold and courageous steps taken today will lead to great victories for both of us in the future,” Nicolau said. “We stand together and do things, in solidarity, in complete sync because that’s who we are – never above, never below, but always side by side with each other.”
Pinheiro noted that when Bitwage flew in to discuss the transition to the Bitcoin standard in person with Nicolau, she was taken aback by what she witnessed and not investing in Bitcoin was a risk she was not willing to take. Pinheiro’s personal experience in Brazil also influenced her decision to work with Bitwage.
“Don’t forget I’m from Brazil, so I know a thing or two about inflation and its effects,” Pinheiro said. “I was born around 1994 when the Brazilian real was launched and pegged 1:1 to the US dollar. Now 1 US dollar is 5 Brazilian reals. What are we doing with bitcoin?!”
Nicolau embraced the adoption of the Bitcoin standard and low time preference by his partners, which Pinheiro dubbed the “black belt time preference,” and made a lasting comment on the cost of inaction for bitcoin adoption:
“Chance is a naughty goddess who doesn’t waste time with people who are unprepared,” Nicola said.
