The public have been turned on to how cryptocurrency can act as a digital asset. Since 2020 and the beginning of 2021, the likes of Bitcoin, Ether, and Dogecoin have found themselves in more and more headlines of national and international standing, read by thousands and millions of people. It has also been attracting the attention of major celebrity figures who have been investing and touting their investment in various mainstream and niche coins. Elon Musk tweeted about Bitcoin and Dogecoin and sent both coin’s prices upwards and upwards, breaking previous records.
Technology industry insiders and experts, as well as those who enjoy keeping tabs on assets, have been waiting for this explosion of interest. Not only because it feeds into cryptocurrency investments but, also, because they believe – as do many blockchain technology enthusiasts – it holds many benefits for wider society. What are the industries in which cryptocurrency is having a major impact? Here are three examples.
Online Casino
The online casino industry has been an industry ready to feature new and alternative payment methods for a number of years now. There is a shared interest in the benefits new payment methods have and the service online casino providers offer. Namely, gamers want strong security, faster transactions, and flexible withdrawal options.
Digital wallets and prepaid cards have become standardised for sites. Industry leaders like casino.netbet.co.uk and smaller providers are accepting mainstream coins like Bitcoin now too. Cryptocurrency is an alternative payment method, then, for online casino gamers.
Blockchain – the technology which underpins cryptocurrency – has begun to be used to programme online casinos too. Smart contracts give these sites a transparency and a reliability which many gamers want to see as a positive.
NBA
The NBA is the first major sporting league to accept and utilise cryptocurrency on a notable scale. The Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings were early adopters, allowing fans to purchase tickets and merchandise. The Mavs use BitPay to process these transactions, allowing Bitcoin, Ethereum, and even the meme-tinged coin Dogecoin. The Kings have taken it a step further, offering to pay their player’s salaries in Bitcoin, which is a move that some players in both the NBA and NFL have been pushing for.
As with online casinos, the league is looking to implement blockchain-backed solutions too. They have set up a blockchain advisory board, which features many franchise owners including Mark Cuban (owner of the Mavericks), to assess and discuss how best to apply this new tech. Tokenising contracts and tickets appears to be the first one on their agenda, which are logical and fairly normal implementations so far.
Shopping
Finally, consumers are able to spend their cryptocurrencies at certain retail sites. Microsoft have allowed this since 2014. More recently, PayPal adapted their digital wallets so that users can buy, sell, and manage their crypto stocks from their wallet, which was a majorly legitimising move. Tesla announced they would be the next to join what was a growing list, but have since stopped, causing the market to crash. However, how much this slows down cryptocurrencies’ rollout is tough to judge. The need for crypto, it appears, is still very much there. The industry looks set to continue its growth.
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