You wouldn't immediately think of it, but the ethos and community behind pickleball shares quite a bit with that of bitcoin.

So much so that Bitcoin Magazine had deemed pickleball "the bitcoin of sports."

Here's how they break it down.

Similar origin stories

Bitcoin combines coexisting technologies and concepts from other forms of legal tender and the ways in which it is handled to create something new, theoretically creating a consensus mechanism where bitcoin traders and miners have their own work to thank for their success, not a money market.

Pickleball was created by a group of dads to give their families something to do. Similarly, they took the best aspects of other sports and created something entirely more accessible, taking input from friends and family who play tested their creation.

A stress on patience

Bitcoin traders constantly rely on patience as they navigate uncertain financial investments, criticism from outside the community, and the value of trading decisions made for the future over immediate gratification.

Likewise, "success in pickleball is not about how many winners you can hit, but rather about how many points you don’t lose by making mistakes," the article says, succinctly.

The lexicon is similar

The language surrounding these two disparate worlds is obviously different, but there is some overlap. For example:

A balance between accessibility & difficulty

A key similarity between pickleball and bitcoin is that the two both stress balance between accessibility and overall difficulty; "a day to learn, a lifetime to master" comes to mind.

After a day or two of learning, anyone can earn some money or win some points in pickleball. But stepping outside of that introductory space requires great practice and attention to detail.

Similarly, the article describes a "I'm new to pickleball and I'm here to fix it" disposition those new to both pastimes often take up when they are new.

"They assume their years of experience and skill building in other sports will immediately translate into dominance in this apparently easy pickleball thing," the article says.

But once they play against others or make a bad investment, they realize the breadth of knowledge they have yet to gain.

We've certainly encountered a tennis player or two who brought that mentality to the pickleball court!

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