History is littered with great explorers and travelers: Magellan, Marco Polo, Thor Heyerdahl, Amelia Earhart and hundreds more. They’ve discovered new lands, forged routes through impassable jungles, deserts and mountains, and circumnavigated the world by ship, aircraft and on foot.
On the 23rd of May, four racers compete to join this illustrious group. Their mission? To travel around the world using just their wits and a single payment method.
Ladies and gentleman: it’s time for the The Payments Race: Round the World, presented by Fintech Finance.
The race
This year’s race kicks off in London’s Trafalgar Square at midday on the 23rd of May. From there, the competitors have two weeks to make their way to Amsterdam for this year’s Money20/20 expo on the 3rd of June. Simple? Not quite. Instead of making the short hop across the North Sea by train or ‘plane, the racers must reach Amsterdam the long way round, travelling west from London, across the Atlantic, America, Asia and Europe – a distance of roughly 24,700 miles.
Each racer must rely on only one payment method to get them to the finish line: cash, card, crypto or mobile. To turn up the heat even further, participants will face a series of devilish challenges on the road to victory. Winning these challenges earns points, which in turn have an effect on the final standing.
The team
It should come as no surprise that we’re sponsoring and backing #TeamCrypto again. We’re dyed-in-the-wool crypto fans and can’t wait to show the world that digital currency is a legitimate alternative to conventional payment methods. Armed with a cameraman, a Wirex account and an innate sense of adventure, our heroic #TeamCrypto racer will utilise the speed and versatility of cryptocurrency to leave the competition in the dust. We’re calling it Cryptonavigation – the future of travel, today.
The racer
Give it up for your #TeamCrypto hero, Alex Hobern. A TV, radio and digital star with a passion for content creation, Alex bridges the gap between digital and television media. He’s best known for winning Channel 4’s The Circle whilst pretending to be a woman called Kate – skills that will undoubtably come in handy as he attempts to be the first person to cryptonavigate the globe.
Alex won’t be on his own, however. As well as his trusty cameraman, our hero will be supported by a network of mentors, PR partners, sponsors and crypto enthusiasts – including you! You can follow every step of Alex’s journey on our social channels: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Telegram. Alex will be documenting the adventure as well, and you can keep up-to-date by following this year’s sponsors and mentors:
Forza Alex! Forza #TeamCrypto!