Cryptocurrency is one of the few things that can rightfully claim to be a game-changer. In fact, the pandemic has caused a big boom for cryptocurrency. As of December 2020, cryptos like Ethereum have experienced hikes in value — with Bitcoin, the most circulated crypto on the market, experiencing an all-time high value of $23,000. For all its increased value, crypto has many benefits, from safer transactions to full ownership of assets.
Therefore, it’s no surprise that many industries today are also taking to crypto with much enthusiasm. In this article we’ll introduce you to four of them:
Banking
Financial services are the first to benefit from cryptocurrency. One of the greatest concerns in banking is the quality of an institution’s security. Today, cyberattacks have cost big banks more than $18.3 million every year. Fortunately, cryptos are built using blockchain technology. This means whenever a new transaction is made, it’s checked by thousands of computers before it’s added as a new block on the virtual chain. This has made the process very difficult to tamper with.
Due to its decentralized nature, crypto is also not subject to interest rates, exchange rates, and levies, making it ideal for international trade. Blockchain has made it easier for banks to reconcile transactions, alongside tracing and finding any errors quickly. Banks also benefit from the crypto blockchain through reduced infrastructure costs with the help of smart contracts — meaning banks don’t need counterparties and intermediaries. Smart contracts also verify and enforce contracts on the blockchain, so they’re also impossible to tamper with.
Online poker
Online poker has much to contribute to the US economy. For example, it has helped New Jersey and Pennsylvania generate as much as $93 million in a single month last year. For all the economic benefits that online poker has to give, there are only a few states with legal online poker sites to date. As of writing, only five states have licensed online poker sites in operation: Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.
However, those in other states can still participate in online poker. It’s just that the sites aren’t regulated locally. And this is why crypto could be the key to legalizing online poker in more US states, as the currency is purchased through registered exchange platforms or cash apps. Plus, the blockchain on which it operates serves as a permanent digital ledger, lessening the need for localized monitoring and regulation.
Online retail
Global scaling is one of the biggest contributions of crypto in international online retail. Since payments don’t need to be converted to countries’ native currencies, buyers can skip the fees, making international purchases more appealing. Some retailers that already allow the use of crypto for online shopping are Amazon, Home Depot, and Microsoft.
Crypto platforms will also often offer credit cards, which makes transacting much easier. Some of these platforms, like Crypto-dot-com, will even offer repayments of up to 12 months. Much like an ordinary credit card, you may also earn points, which you can later exchange for rewards like Cryptobacks and freebies.
Gaming
There are a lot of monetary transactions that go on in the gaming industry, such as the purchasing of in-game currency and downloadable content. All of these will benefit greatly from the introduction of crypto. For instance, since crypto isn’t managed by a third-party provider, transactions go through much faster and with no added cost, so players get more for their money and developers get more profit. The decentralized nature of crypto also means you can play from anywhere without security or exchange rate problems.
Online gaming shop Gamivo and PC gaming platform Steam are popular ventures that accept crypto as payment. Crypto’s heightened security has also been a big help in protecting gaming accounts from being hacked and personal information from being stolen. What you use crypto for is kept discrete because the anonymous cryptocurrency address that’s generated changes every time you buy something.
Cryptos are changing many industries by providing a cheaper, faster, and safer way to transact. As more people buy and sell using crypto, it may become one of the primary currencies in an increasingly digital world.
