USA Luge Team Running on Bitcoin
Both know all about speed, crashes, risk management, and holding on. Which is maybe why the US Luge Team and Bitcoin are made for each other. And the lugers are betting big that bitcoin can help them get on the podium in the next few Olympic Games. The lugers are the first US Olympic team to set up an account within their endowment to buy and hodl bitcoin, and they are happily taking contributions of the cryptocurrency.
Gordy Sheer, a silver medalist in luge doubles in 1998 and current USA Luge marketing director, sees the parallels. “You know, we hear a lot of jokes about lugers being crazy, and people don’t know why we do it. But luge is something that gets into your blood and transforms your life…and the bitcoiners we’ve met know exactly what it’s like to be all in on something that the world doesn’t appreciate yet. We’ve looked at bitcoin hard, and it is definitely a risk-reward we understand and are eager to take.”
This is the first time an American Olympic sport has benefited from crypto-currency. Some may remember when a few dogecoin holders sent much appreciated contributions to the Jamaican bobsled team 4 years ago, but the similarities end there. USA Luge is a world class effort, led by athletes like 2014 Olympic bronze medalist Erin Hamlin, and a staff which is thinking long-term to invest in Bitcoin as part of their endowment. Funds historically have been scarce, but the sport of luge has always been one to reward innovation and technology.
Former luge Olympian and Wall Streeter Ty Danco was one of the first to donate some cryptocurrency to the effort. “It’s such a natural and good fit for the team. The luge team is not thinking short term, but long. By hodling bitcoin with the express goal of holding on through the 2022 and 2026 Olympic Games, the sport hopes to change from being underfunded to being able to support full teams on the World Cup level at the same time as developing grassroots youth programs to develop athletes. Bitcoin is still in its early days, and hats off to USA Luge for being both brave and prescient to ride this wave.”
From a tax point of view, donating bitcoin to USA Luge gives donors the benefits of not paying taxes on any appreciated bitcoin. The team has set up a cold storage wallet to receive donations. For more information on how to make a tax-advantaged donation (especially before year-end while donations still benefit from the current tax code,) click on our instruction link here, or email “bitcoin@usaluge.org”. You can donate directly here:
or if you prefer cutting and pasting:
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THANKS!!!
