Two fast-rising industries will collide next month for a unique mix of education and competition.
On October 18, The Proof of Workforce Foundation will be partnering with the Fold App and Pickle Pop at 1231 Third Street Promenade for “PickleBit.” The special pickleball tournament is themed around the Bitcoin digital currency, coinciding with the Bitcoin Peer to Peer Festival on the Promenade that day.
The PickleBit tournament will have a semi-pro and amateur mixed doubles tournament, both following a double-elimination format, with over $5,000 in Bitcoin on the line. Other prizes include additional Bitcoin hardware devices provided by CoinKite.
“This will be an incredible event, bringing together two talented and high-growth communities, Bitcoiners and Pickleballers, to support creative re-use of commercial space on the [Promenade],” Proof of Workforce Foundation Founder Dominick Bei stated.
The day-long festival is hosted by the Santa Monica Bitcoin Office, which made headlines in July by becoming the first such office in the United States. At the request of Vice Mayor Lana Negrete and approved by City Council, Proof of Workforce coordinated with the city on piloting the Bitcoin Office.
Four key initiatives of the office are: Education for Santa Monica residents, identifying Bitcoin initiatives and partnerships to cultivate economic growth, identify career opportunities in the industry, and to explore the potential of utilizing stranded city-generated renewable energy to explore environmentally neutral bitcoin mining.
“The Santa Monica Bitcoin Office is already bringing communities and revenue opportunities to key areas of our economic revitalization strategy, and has done so at zero cost to the city,” Negrete said. “[The festival] is exciting and an example of collaborative and innovative ideas to reimagine retail on 3rd Street.”
Along with the pickleball action, the festival will include a presence from the UCLA and USC Bitcoin student clubs, as well as BitDevs LA. For more information on the PickleBit tournament, visit the site here.
