There is no doubt that cryptocurrency has made headway into the world of iGaming. It is no longer a surprise when you are bombarded with ads for one crypto casino or the other. Along with this, the number of cryptocurrencies accepted by these casinos have also increased in recent years.
However, crypto casinos still accept only a limited number of coins for the most part. This is usually based on a few factors, which include:
- General popularity of the coin
- Price stability relative to other coins
- Transaction speeds
- Security and privacy-focused features of the underlying blockchain
Here, we discuss the five most popular coins used for online gambling. Chances are that you should be able to gamble on almost every cryptocurrency casino using one of these coins.
Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin is by far the most popular coin for crypto casinos. This should come as no surprise since Bitcoin is the biggest coin in terms of popularity and market capitalization. Since it serves as the backbone for all other coins, all other cryptocurrencies are correlated with Bitcoin in terms of price (at least, for now).
Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency to be widely accepted by casinos. Its popularity is shown not by the fact that almost all crypto casinos accept Bitcoin, but by just how many fiat-based casinos accept Bitcoin for deposits and withdrawals as well.
On top of this, there are quite a few online casinos that are Bitcoin only. These Bitcoin casinos only accept payment in Bitcoin, forgoing other cryptocurrencies along with fiat. This may seem like a bad business decision, but chances are that almost all crypto enthusiasts own some Bitcoin.
Lastly, the other variations of Bitcoin (e.g. Bitcoin Cash) also enjoy a lot of popularity in crypto casinos. However, they are nowhere near BTC, and there are other options that are more popular.
Tether (USDT)
Tether is the next most popular coin for online gambling. Almost all cryptocurrency casinos (apart from those that only accept Bitcoin) accept USDT as a payment method.
This is both due to the popularity of the coin and the structure of its blockchain. Tether is a stablecoin, meaning that its value is pegged to a specific currency. In the case of USDT, that currency is the U.S. Dollar.
This allows owners of the coin to take a hybrid approach between fiat and crypto. They get to enjoy all the benefits of the blockchain, but also get to have the price stability of the Dollar.
Players who want to hold funds for the long-term without risking a fall in their price can use USDT for online gambling. The value of the coin will almost always be roughly $1. On top of that, the stability in price also allows casinos to better manage their operations, making Tether a favorite currency of gamblers everywhere.
Just remember that not all stablecoins are created equal. While Tether has held its peg to the U.S. Dollar, other stablecoins like Terra (LUNA) have experienced massive crashes. As such, players should stick with tried and true coins if they are looking for long-term stability.
Litecoin (LTC)
Litecoin is the next currency on our list of the most popular crypto coins. Although Litecoin has somewhat faded into the background in recent years, crypto casinos still love the currency for one reason: Its speed.
Litecoin was built with speed in mind. Transactions are very fast, and that is all you need when you are trying to quickly withdraw or deposit money into a casino.
Apart from BTC and USDT, Litecoin is the most common cryptocurrency that you will see on casinos.
Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum is regularly touted as the cryptocurrency with the biggest future due to its use-cases in blockchain-based apps and its ecosystem. This is what has led to its popularity, and this is why it is also used by online gamblers.
When it comes to online casinos, the only utility that Ethereum provides is as a currency. However, Ethereum is clearly the second largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, and thus is trusted to be somewhat more stable than most other coins.
Of course, using Ethereum to gamble also allows you to access its ecosystem and get a wealth of additional benefits.
Ripple (XRP)
The last coin on our list is Ripple. The main reason behind the use of Ripple is that it was a very hyped currency when most of the current major casinos were founded.
As such, it was considered imperative to have XRP be one of the currencies that was supported by the casinos. While the hype has died down in recent years, most of the casinos are still supporting Ripple.
While the last spot on this list is debatable between Ripple, Monero, Dogecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Dash, we think Ripple edges the rest out by being supported by a slightly higher number of casinos compared to the rest.
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