crypto – Page 3 – BitcoinCasinos.us

Solana Pay Ventures into the Crypto Payments Space

Posted on February 2, 2022February 2, 2022 by Martin S.

While crypto has certainly revolutionized online payment in many respects, the sector still has more room to grow and advance further. There have been lots of different initiatives and developments dedicated to solving some of the things that have plagued crypto payments. Stablecoins and Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, for instance, were all dedicated to bringing some much-needed improvements to the sector.

Now, Solana Labs is hoping to make its play for the crypto payments sector with a solution it believes will be a gamechanger. The company has co-developed software that it will use to help merchants accept payments via the Solana network.

While still relatively new, the Solana network has been steadily growing in popularity. Today, it is the blockchain network that is the Ethereum network’s biggest competitor. That is because it offers a solid range of products and services. The most notable ones are the cheaper, faster, and more scalable transaction processing capabilities that the network boasts of.

Its new product is aimed at facilitating merchant payments and commerce rails. Both are very lucrative and thus a provider that offers the most value in terms of costs and instant payment settlements can tap into this unique growth opportunity.

No Middleman

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Solana’s new venture is that it lives up to the promise of crypto. Using QR codes, users will be able to make direct peer-to-peer (P2P) payments. All they need to have is a valid cryptocurrency wallet.

According to Solana Labs Head of Payments Sheraz Shere, the new product has the potential of paving the way for the future of mainstream crypto use. The fact that there is no need for a middle man taxing every transaction makes it very appealing to both merchants and consumers.

“Now that we have a blockchain that has the throughput, speed and scalability and low fees of traditional payment networks – 50,000 transactions per second and sub-second transfer times, we can potentially build a merchant payment system that’s truly on the blockchain, and most importantly, that’s peer-to-peer and decentralized and permissionless.”
Sheraz Shere, Solana Labs’ Head of Payments.

For those who may be concerned about volatility, the new product is particularly focused on USDC. According to the company, USDC transfers are the best way to go as they are not only simple to execute but also unlikely to add any stress to the network.

Some Expert Predictions for Crypto and iGaming in 2022

Posted on January 2, 2022December 30, 2021 by Laura P.

The new year is finally here and, as always, everyone is already looking into what might eventually come of it. For various industries, the beginning of a new year is often both a time of reflection and a time to ramp up preparations for what’s to come. This applies to the gambling and crypto industries as well.

These two sectors have enjoyed a surge in popularity over the past couple of years and 2022 is seemingly set to be yet another great year for them. There were, of course, some ups and downs. Still, from what we have already seen, it is possible to estimate the trajectory of these sectors. Some of the things that we should watch out for include:

More Mainstream Push for Crypto

For a long time, the gambling industry carried nearly all the weight as far as mainstream crypto use is concerned. 2021 changed that significantly thanks to the impressive rise in institutional interest. Lots of mainstream organizations including investment firms and financial institutions got in on the world of crypto.

There is a lot of optimism about 2022 and how it could be an even better year for crypto. Institutional support is one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle when it comes to bringing crypto use to the mainstream. More adoption of digital tokens and currencies will likely be a defining aspect of the year.

The Rise and Rise of Non-Fungible Tokens

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) were one of the most divisive topics in 2021. While some people saw it as a fad, there were lots of people who saw its potential. The idea is still quite new to many people even those in the crypto community. This raises a few eyebrows with regards to its future.

Well, many experts are optimistic that NFTs are here to stay. The innovative technology has proven to be quite popular among crypto enthusiasts and creators alike. The latter have been able to find new ways of making money from their work. A few issues such as concerns about power consumption will need to be ironed out though.

Enter the Metaverse

With huge companies such as Meta (formerly Facebook) and Microsoft making a play for the Metaverse, the technology was a huge part of conversations in 2021. In 2022, those conversations continue and we expect even more announcements about potential additions to the metaverse.

Knowing how dynamic the iGaming sector is, it will not be long before we hear about more operators leveraging the power of the Metaverse. Crypto and the blockchain will, without a doubt, be a huge part of that shift.

Crypto Gambling Wins iGaming Market in Third Quarter of 2021

Posted on December 2, 2021December 2, 2021 by Martin S.

As crypto gambling continues to rise in popularity, we are also seeing a lot more activity in the crypto gambling space. Digital currencies and tokens such as Bitcoin have been evolving rapidly with gambling being one of the most significant areas of growth. Online gambling is currently the most lucrative space for many operators. Innovative use of technologies such as crypto and blockchain has been very vital for this growth.

Following a market study that lasted over several months, last Tuesday renowned crypto-first iGaming operator BGaming released a report detailing gambling market trends in Q3 of 2021. According to this report, crypto gambling showed the most significant growth of all existing gambling trends.

There was a massive surge in the popularity of digital currency use across several different sectors. It is now closer to mainstream adoption than ever. As such, its increasing popularity has made it a great way for many online casino operations to differential themselves. While Bitcoin still leads the pack, other digital tokens including custom ones from gambling operators have been doing very well.

“Being the world’s first iGaming provider to offer cryptocurrencies, we draw particular attention to crypto gambling. BGaming widens its network of crypto projects and we see the results. The number of explosive winnings on crypto projects has significantly risen over the past few months.”
Bogdan Gres, Brand Team Lead at BGaming.

For crypto-focused gambling companies such as BGaming, this is an indication that their efforts are paying off. It will therefore not be surprising to see even more entries into the crypto gambling space by both new companies and existing operators.

More Insights

The BGaming report also included other valuable insights into the current state of the iGaming sector and what we can expect for the future. To begin with, it found that mobile gaming is still a force to reckon with. Almost 95 percent of the operator’s gamers played from their mobile devices. If that is anything to go by, the mobile gambling vertical should only get better in the future.

Another important aspect of online gaming that BGaming’s report listed was the growing young adult audience. This tech-savvy and highly dynamic market grew by more than 6 percent in 2021. Finding new and exciting entertainment options is important to this audience. BGaming has thus been able to attract many of them thanks to its innovative crypto-powered offerings. To stay at the top, the company must cater to the demands of this audience.

Binance On the Spotlight Over Ties to Betting App in India

Posted on August 2, 2021August 2, 2021 by Martin S.

Both crypto and betting have been enjoying massive popularity all around the world. The situation is, however, not as rosy in India. The country has been known for its rather strong stance against gambling and the burgeoning digital currency and blockchain ecosystem. Its government has been trying hard to regulate these sectors. The latest casualty of these efforts is Binance, one of the world’s most popular crypto exchanges and brands.

Recently, the Enforcement Directorate, India’s anti-money laundering agency, began a probe into Binance Holdings Limited. The investigation is meant to ascertain whether the crypto exchange had something to do with betting apps. Its executives are currently being investigated.

No official communication is available on the matter. The Enforcement Directory has not commented and representatives from Binance have denied receiving any summons.

“We have always been a proactive player in fighting crime. We comply with regulator requests all around the world and we don’t comment on any specific engagements.”
Binance’s Spokesperson.

However, sources close to the matter have shared differing information that points to some messy issues. It will certainly take a bit of time before any of these matters get settled. It is thus bound to reach the public domain soon.

What Caused the Problem?

Blockchain, digital currencies, and the businesses related to them are no stranger to controversy. Binance is no exception. The company was incorporated in the Cayman Islands and has no corporate headquarters. This raised some eyebrows and the exchange has been facing scrutiny. Many countries including India have concerns that digital currencies can potentially be used to facilitate money-laundering, drug trade, and even terrorism.

Binance’s woes in India may have emanated from its involvement with betting apps which are also still facing some troubles themselves. The operators of said betting apps used wallets with WazirX to buy, convert and transfer funds on Binance. There should be a straightforward way of dealing with this but that is, unfortunately, not the case.

As it turns out, Binance failed to take responsibility by collecting the necessary know-your-customer documents from clients in most of the transactions. In addition to that, the crypto exchange also reportedly failed to collect information as required by the Finance Action Task Force (FATF), the global anti-money laundering watchdog.

Now, this may blow over without too many implications. Still, it represents a clear need for further action concerning the regulatory framework. India in particular has a long way to go when it comes to warming up to crypto and betting.

Crypto.com To Sponsor Formula 1’s New Sprint Races

Posted on July 2, 2021July 1, 2021 by Laura P.

Renowned international racing auto racing organization Formula 1 has become one of the latest entities to partner with the crypto industry. This is thanks to a multi-million-dollar deal between the organization and Crypto.com which is one of the fastest-growing crypto platforms in existence.

As per the terms of the partnership agreement, Crypto.com will now be able to enjoy a significant amount of brand presence around Formula 1 events. This will begin with the new Spring qualifying format that Formula 1 will be using to determine the starting positions of cars in some of its races.

Speaking on the new development, a spokesperson from Formula 1 said that they are very excited about the partnership. Crypto.com’s reputation as a leading crypto platform across the globe certainly opens doors for new ways of fan engagement. F1 director of commercial partnerships Ben Pincus has also confirmed that cryptocurrencies are “an area we are very interested in.”

All the Sprint races will go down in three rounds of the championship in 2021. After its launch at Silverstone, more events will likely head to Monza after which the next location will be selected. There is speculation that this could be either Interlagos in Brazil or the Circuit of the Americas in the USA

NFTs Coming to Formula 1

The idea that one of the biggest racing organizations will now be associated with the crypto industry is very exciting, to say the least. What is even more exciting is the fact that some arguably newer crypto technologies such as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) will be a part of the deal.

“As F1 continues to explore new ways for fans to engage and become more immersed in the sport, Crypto.com will also become the Official Cryptocurrency Sponsor and NFT Partner of F1. Mirroring the fan-first approach F1 has adopted to engage with new audiences, Crypto.com aims to democratize the world of cryptocurrency for fans, through education and experiences in the new partnership.”

To kick things off, Crypto.com will be presenting a brand-new award. This is yet to be announced but we expect some news on it ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.

All in all, this is a great step forward for the world of digital currencies. The sector is still fundamentally considered to be complicated. Thanks to such partnerships as the one between Crypto.com and Formula 1 we can expect even more growth. It is going to be very exciting to see how this partnership pans out going forward.

Update: Atari Crypto Casino Finally Launches with Virtual Party

Posted on May 2, 2021 by Laura P.

Last Thursday, renowned Japanese video game company Atari followed through with its plans to launch a cryptocurrency casino. This was through a virtual launch party that was hosted in Decentraland. Needless to say, the launch was a pretty huge milestone for the company as it doubles down on its efforts to become a huge player in the world of crypto gaming.

One of the biggest highlights of the launch event was the amazing performance of Dillion Francis, one of the world’s most popular DJs, record produces, and accomplished electronic musicians. He performed a DJ set via a live stream in the Casino Quarter of Vegas City on Decentraland. Atari was so impressed with this performance that they have gone on to say that it broke every record for a launch party.

The NFT Sale

Dillion Francis was one of the people that were behind the special non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that were auctioned off during the launch event. For that, the DJ and musician teamed up with MERDA, a popular visual artist. They then created three amazing NFT’s all of which were inspired by Gerald the Pinata

Dillon’s and MERDA’s NFTs were auctioned off on OpenSea and other platforms during Atari’s launch party. One of them featured a “3D Pixel Gerald,” and it sold for 6.42 ether (ETH) – this is the equivalent of $17,788 as of the time of this writing. Also worth noting is that the launch party began with a doubled prize pool which then brought the total prize pool for the launch to a whopping $20,000.

More to Come

Atari also recently announced plans for the formation of a blockchain division known as the Atari Blockchain. This move further solidifies the company’s venture into the world of crypto. Likely, the move will also nudge other companies to work towards similar initiatives.

Atari Crypto Casino Coming in 2021

Posted on April 2, 2021April 2, 2021 by Laura P.

In March, renowned video game developer Atari announced that it has plans to launch a crypto casino. Known as Atari Casino, the new crypto casino would allow users to enjoy playing the company’s iconic gaming titles such as Pac-Man, Pong, Space Invaders, and Asteroids among others using digital currencies like Bitcoin. While the game developer is yet to provide any information regarding a specific launch date, it is anticipated that the launch could be as early as May or even April depending on various factors.

Still, this is a very exciting move for Atari. Last year in October, the company launched its first digital currency. This was shortly followed by the announcement of its plans to join the Ethereum virtual reality game Sandbox. Needless to say, these were the first indicators of Atari’s growing interest in expanding its presence in the crypto space. It is safe to say, an Atari-owned crypto-based gaming site was inevitable.

Lucrative Collaboration

For this venture, Atari partnered with Decentral Games on the Ethereum blockchain. The two partners have been working on several Atari-themed games as well as Atari non-fungible tokens (NFTs) – players will be able to leverage the latter to earn more digital currency. NFTs have grown very popular over the past several months and it is not surprising to see that big brands such as Atari are trying to capitalize on it.

Atari Casino will be based in “Vegas City” which is a gaming district in Decentraland, the Decentral Game’s metaverse. For anyone who is not familiar with the concept, Decentraland is simply a virtual world where visitors can visit using their avatars.

“By combining our expertise in building crypto casinos with Atari’s decades of experience in developing video games, we are excited for our community to immerse themselves in an innovative and new gaming experience,” Decentral Games’ statement read.

Some of the amazing things that players can look forward to on Atari Casino include games of luck as well as several titles that require both skill and luck. Anyone familiar with Atari’s classic offerings will be very happy with the nostalgia-inducing games that will be available on the platform.

High Hopes

According to the joint statement from Atari and Decentral Games, they expect to see bets of up to $150 million in 2021. This is further expected to rise to a whopping $400 million over two years. These are some pretty ambitious projections but they are pretty confident in being able to pull it off. For now, we will just have to wait and see how it all plays out.

Bitcoin Boom Prompts New Developments for Financial Institutions

Posted on March 2, 2021March 2, 2021 by Martin S.

The past couple of months have been quite monumental for the world of crypto. Bitcoin, in particular, managed to scale to even greater heights and broke records it had set before, something that has a ton of impacts on the way individuals and institutions perceive crypto. Already, we are seeing several new developments with the most notable ones being by leading financial institutions. It is not just gambling operators anymore.

Goldman Sachs to Reopen Its Cryptocurrency Trading Desk

Beginning next week, Goldman Sachs Group Inc will be reopening its crypto trading desk. It is the second time that the banking powerhouse will be pursuing a piece of the crypto market. The previous attempt was in 2018 and was abandoned following the crash of bitcoin at the time. Now, there has been a change of heart for the company which is without a doubt a result of the mind-numbing bitcoin surge recorded over the past several weeks.

Goldman Sachs’ new crypto trading operation will see it deal bitcoin futures for clients. In addition to that, it will also be trading non-deliverable forwards which are already quite popular in foreign exchanges and commodities markets. This move has been equated to decisions by investors and companies to use bitcoin as a hedge against inflation especially as governments and central banks turn on various stimulus taps.

Coinbase’s Impending Listing

Riding on the back of a very strong 2020 and a solid first two months of 2021, Coinbase which happens to be one of the world’s most popular exchanges is finally taking another leap forward by becoming a public company. This will not only enable it to raise capital publicly but also push forward its plans to give more people access to crypto. If you missed out on the crypto boom, this will be the perfect opportunity to jump onto the bandwagon.

An official offering date is yet to be announced but if the ongoing rumors and speculations are anything to go by, we should expect some developments very soon.

Robinhood Records Massive Surge in Crypto Activity

Robinhood has also recently reported seeing growing consumer interest in crypto trading – the volumes have already risen significantly which goes to show just how lucrative the sector is becoming. To put this into context, the company saw a whopping 6 million new crypto traders at the beginning of 2021, a number that is still growing.

Perhaps the next move will involve the expansion of its crypto portfolio. As it stands, it only supports seven digital currencies which is a rather small number when compared to other trading platforms. This should, hopefully, change very soon.

India’s Parliament Proposes Crypto Ban

Posted on February 2, 2021 by Laura P.

Last week, news broke of a proposal by the Indian parliament to ban what they termed as “private” cryptocurrencies. Now, crypto has always been on the sights of several governments around the world but not a lot has been done to threaten the sector in most jurisdictions. India is, on the other hand, a little different hence the attention.

As it stands, the country’s ruling party has control over both houses of Parliament which implies that there is a huge possibility that the proposed bill could become law. Known as the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021, the new proposal seeks to outlaw the use of crypto in India.

However, this does not mean that India will be completely cutting ties with crypto. Instead of the so-called “private” cryptocurrencies, the Indian government will be shifting its focus to providing a framework for creating an official digital currency. This will be overseen by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) which will not only distribute the currency but also regulate it.

The Industry Reacts

This is not the first time that India has made controversial proposals with regards to the crypto sector and, as expected, the move has generated some buzz. Both local and international crypto investors have already weighed in on the issue.

To begin with, many members of the crypto industry have been very open to the idea of the government developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). This not only affirms the strength of crypto as a worthy replacement of fiat currency.

However, crypto stakeholders are not too happy about the plans by the country’s parliament to term certain digital currencies as “private”. In essence, any cryptocurrency that is not sovereign, including bitcoin, may be prohibited.

It is worth noting that, as it stands, there is no certainty about which specific digital currencies will be affected. This is because the government is also considering some unspecified exceptions in a bid to promote the underlying blockchain technology.

“The digital currency bill to be introduced in the Lok Sabha is a welcome step. Its success will depend on the details, particularly the definition of what the bill calls ‘private cryptocurrencies’. This is not a common term. Bitcoin is not privately owned by anyone. It is a public good, like the internet,” said Rahul Pagdipati, CEO of ZebPay.

A consensus among industry stakeholders is that these crypto-assets and the government’s digital currency are more than capable of coexisting. Hopefully, more consultations will be conducted to ensure that the new laws can adopt a more forward-looking approach.

Cloudbet Unveils New Suite of Games Under Arcade Tab

Posted on January 2, 2021January 1, 2021 by Laura P.

Renowned crypto-firsts online betting platform Cloudbet has had a pretty busy 2020. The operator has over the past year been able to launch several new and innovative products all of which were heartily welcome by its massive customer base. However, that is not all that the company. To round up the year and give its customers a gift to bring to 2021, Cloudbet has recently unveiled a suite of exciting, provably fair games. All of these titles are now available under the newly-created Arcade tab on the operator’s website.

One of the things that Cloudbet is popular for is the outstanding quality of the games that it offers its customers. The same applies to its new selection of provably fair arcade games which will include some amazing titles like Aviator, Mines, Dice, and Plinko.

Already these games are getting a lot of attention from crypto and arcade game enthusiasts. Most people within the crypto community will probably already be familiar with the particularly because they are all timeless favorites that have received praise from the crypto community since their launch a little over ten years ago. For instance, Aviator is just an updated taken on the classic crypto game Crash – if you loved this game then you will probably really enjoy Aviator.

A Long Time Coming

As it turns out, the launch of the new arcade games is partly in response to customer feedback – apparently lots of people had been looking forward to the return of these arcade games. According to one of Cloudbet’s spokespeople, their customers had been asking for the inclusion of class crypto games that were available elsewhere.

The move is therefore not too surprising especially considering that the company has said time and time again that it is very committed to bringing in content and features that matter to its customers. As a result, the crypto-powered iGaming platform has been able to grow big enough that it is now considered to be the ultimate one-stop-shop for those looking for an amazing experience while playing their favorite crypto games.

More Developments

In addition to bringing several new features such as better sports odds and a state-of-the-art betting platform, Cloudbet has also been extending its reach in the crypto space. In 2020, the company added a record six digital currencies to its portfolio. This brings the total number of currencies currently supported by the platform to a 9 and summed up, this accounts for nearly 80 percent of the total market capitalization of all digital currencies.

BitcoinCasinos.us

Tag: crypto