Ever ahead of the curve, the Dallas Mavericks will be the first NBA team - and really the first anybody - to accept Dogecoin, the newest form of cryptocurrency featuring the face of the adorable dog from the "Doge"meme.

Dogecoin was invented by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, who decided to create a payment system free from traditional banking fees, and also somewhat as a joke/homage to the "much wow" Shiba Inu dog that was such a huge meme in 2013.

They launched it that year and it grew in popularity in no small part due to its branding value, IE the fact that its logo featured the dog's image.

Dogecoin has since been endorsed by big names such as Snoop Dogg, Gene Simmons of KISS, and especially Elon Musk, whose tweets have helped elevate its profile and value.

According to a release, BitPay, the world's largest provider of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment services, has now adopted Dogecoin as a valid payment, and that includes Mavs tickets and merchandise.

BitPay is one of the oldest cryptocurrency companies, with a mission to transform how businesses and people send, receive, and store money. Its business solutions eliminate fraud chargebacks, reduce the cost of payment processing, and enable borderless payments in cryptocurrency.

The ability to accept crypto expands a business' sales opportunity into international markets where credit cards are not practical, while reducing high fees and increasing payment transparency and efficiency. BitPay enables businesses to accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment without having to buy, own, or manage crypto.

An early adopter of cryptocurrency, the Dallas Mavericks have been accepting Bitcoin as a method of payment for game tickets and merchandise for almost two years. They'll now be the first to accept Dogecoin. Mavs Fans for Life (MFFLs) can now use Dogecoin to buy tickets and merchandise online.

"The Dallas Mavericks are a long-time enthusiast of cryptocurrency, opening up new opportunities for the team to sell tickets and merchandise to its global MFFL fan base," says BitPay CEO Stephen Pair in a statement. "BitPay believes that with continued cryptocurrency adoption, the industry is reaching an inflection point that will forever change consumer confidence, trust and pave the way for blockchain payments to disrupt the way consumers and businesses receive and spend funds."

The Mavs use BitPay to process all cryptocurrency purchases including tickets and merchandise with all top cryptocurrencies including BTC, BCH, ETH, USDC, GUSD, PAX, BUSD - and now DOGE.

"The Mavericks have decided to accept Dogecoin as payment for Mavs tickets and merchandise for one very important, earth shattering reason, because we can!" says Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. "Because we can, we have chosen to do so. We have chosen to do so because sometimes in business you have to do things that are fun, engaging and hopefully generate a lot of PR. So we will take Dogecoin, today, tomorrow and possibly forever more. For those of you who would like to learn more about Dogecoin we strongly encourage you to talk to your teenagers who are on TikTok and ask them about it. They will be able to explain it all to you."