Luana Pinheiro is the world's first female UFC fighter ever to get paid a significant amount of her earnings in Bitcoin via the Bitwage platform
Miami, Florida, July 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bitwage went into futuristic mode again by working with the #15-ranked strawweight Luana Pinheiro (10-1-0 record) to allow her to become the World’s first UFC female fighter and the World’s first-ever Latin American athlete, in general, to get her paycheck in Bitcoin. By utilizing Bitwage, Pinheiro, the Brazilian phenom on an eight-fight winning streak is able to get paid in Bitcoin without having to negotiate a Bitcoin payment with her promotion (UFC).
Luana’s boyfriend, #7-ranked flyweight Matheus Nicolau (18-2 record), has already made the switch to Bitwage in March of this year, making them a true UFC power couple on the Bitcoin standard. Both have UFC championship aspirations and hope to earn Bitcoin for their fights as they climb the rankings to the top.
“MMA is a brutal sport and there is no time for overthinking. Mental strength and callousing one's mind is everything,” said Pinheiro.
A judo black belt, from a family full of black belts, Pinheiro has been immersed into martial arts since two years old. “I do not think I will have a problem with Bitcoin going down or up,” says Pinheiro. “If it was not volatile it would not go up either. Think about this: it takes on average 10-15 years for an individual to get a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, so my time preference here is equally long if not longer. Black belt time preference I call it. Everything else is just noise to me and the lower the price the more Bitcoin I will be able to secure for the future.”
This deal is one of many facilitated by Bitwage - a company known for their premium payroll service that allows anyone in the world to get paid in Bitcoin without their employer needing to be onboarded. Bitwage, founded in 2014 in San Francisco, makes crypto payrolls faster, cheaper and accessible to anyone in the world.
People usually think that for someone to use their service, integration of sorts is needed or their employer needs to be involved or their HR department or something. But it is just the opposite. Anybody reading this can register right now, get their banking account details from Bitwage and make sure their next salary arrives to them as Bitcoin to any address they want.
“Opportunity is a naughty goddess that wastes no time with those who are unprepared.” said Matheus Nicolau. “You improve as much as possible in all aspects and when the opportunity knocks, you are ready. Both in life and in sports. Luana joining me in going onto the Bitcoin standard makes me very happy and I am more than confident that bold and courageous steps taken today will be a huge win in the future, for both of us. We stand and do things together, united and fully in sync, because that is how we are - never above, never below, but always beside each other.” - Matheus Nicolau
How did the better half of Luana & Matheus power couple come to a realization to go the Bitcoin route, Luana explains more in detail:
“When Matheus made the switch to get paid in Bitcoin, a few months ago, I met the Bitwage team. They flew into Rio and provided the in-person concierge service to Matheus. I was blown away by their approach and the amount of knowledge and information I gathered was mind-boggling. So, everything came together and the time was just right. One can lose only what one puts into it, but what about the flipside when Bitcoin does 100X?! I knew what I had to do and that the sooner I plant the tree the sooner the tree shall grow. It was just a natural evolution of things. Not doing it was a risk I was not willing to take. He who dares wins, both inside and outside of the octagon. And don’t forget that I am from Brazil, so I know a thing or two about inflation and its effects. I was born around 1994, at that time Brazilian currency Real was introduced and pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar at that time. Now it is 5 BRL for 1 USD. What do we use Bitcoin again for?!” said Luana.
Here’s how it works: Anyone in the world can register with Bitwage to receive a bank account number. Next, you choose what percentage you want to receive in Bitcoin, and then you give the new account number to your employer. Once they send the paycheck, you will receive Bitcoin to address you control. If you did not allocate 100% to go into Bitcoin, you will receive the rest of the money to your regular bank account. This is exactly how both Luana and Matheus are receiving their payments from the UFC from now on. Bitwage also has services for companies that want to offer the benefit directly as well.
The Bitwage team flew to Rio de Janeiro, Brasil and provided their exclusive concierge service to Luana Pinheiro in person. Their exclusive service is not just reserved for athletes or high net worth individuals, but just the opposite. Anybody across the world can sign up and use it in the same way Luana and Matheus are using it.
“Proper information at the right time is everything. Having knowledge and not acting on it is not why we acquire knowledge in the first place. We get it so we can act.” said Chester. “It is our goal to help each and every individual on their journey. Through education, every individual can choose how they want to get paid, whether it be to their self controlled wallet or to their bank account. So at the end of the day they do not need anybody and are truly independent. Our relentless approach to details is available to anyone who signs up to our service.
Having the first athlete couple in the world in the most brutal sport in the world, getting both paid in Bitcoin by using our service is a glimpse of what the future holds.”
In addition to Matheus Nicolau, Luana is joined in being paid in Bitcoin by professional football player Alex Barrett. Professional soccer players Achara Ifunanyachi and Alex Crognale made similar moves in 2021 by using Bitwage as their premium Bitcoin payroll service provider as well.
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About Bitwage
Bitwage is the global leader in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency and stablecoin payroll with services across invoicing and benefits services. The company also offers resources to employers, employees, and freelancers with their robust, online platform. Bitwage is headquartered in San Francisco, California with operations in the US, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. After a simple sign-up process, employees and freelancers are able to receive any percentage of their wage in Bitcoin with unique bank accounts offered in US, EU, and UK. International users can also receive their wages faster & cheaper than traditional banking channels through blockchain technology, receiving Bitcoin or fiat on the other end. Bitwage has processed $150MM in transactions with over 50,000 users and 2,000 companies. Since their inception in 2014, Bitwage has received $4MM in funding from Draper Associates, BnkToTheFuture, Overton VC, Candela Reach Capital, Plug and Play, BPI France and many others.
CONTACT: Jonathan Chester Bitwage press@bitwage.com
