Category: Bitcoin

Stake.com Becomes Title Partner for Alfa Romero

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Stake.com, a leading provider of online betting and gaming in the crypto space, has agreed to become the title sponsor of the Alfa Romeo F1 Racing Team. This is a massive milestone for the crypto-based gaming company and the F1 team.

In light of this development, the team’s name has been changed to “Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake” and Stake is now officially the team’s title partner. As part of the multi-year relationship with Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake, the gaming operator will compile a schedule of activities and experiences from across the globe to run concurrently with the F1 season.

According to the team’s representative, Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Stake’s arrival as a co-title partner marks a fresh beginning for both entities. The recent explosion in the popularity of Formula One is reflected in the entry of new businesses like Stake, which may benefit greatly from the immense publicity the sport generates. They are looking forward to Stake’s activation campaign for their fans and to becoming part of such a diverse roster of sports and entertainment companies.

A Few Concerns

Stake has been actively working to expand its global profile, and this is the latest step in that direction. Stake has sponsored the promotion of the brand by Premier League football teams, UFC fighters, and even celebrities.

Despite not being the first to do so, Alfa Romeo has taken cryptocurrency funding at a time when many other teams have dropped their corporate sponsors. For instance, once the $32 billion business declared bankruptcy, Mercedes dropped its sponsorship deal with FTX. Similarly, Ferrari abandoned Velas when its worth went from $0.001 to $0.000081.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Alfa Romero wants to conceal the crypto component behind their new sponsor. Although Stake differs from the aforementioned platforms in that it serves as a crypto casino rather than a marketplace, the omission of the term from Alfa’s press statement is interesting, particularly given that there may be more to it. That could be because, despite Australia’s prohibition on internet casinos, Stake.com is headquartered there thanks to a legal loophole.

Although these worries need consideration, the crypto industry stands to gain considerable potential advantages as well. Even if it will take some time for things to take root and for all those advantages to materialize, the good news is that it is a good beginning, especially considering past achievements. Streamlining regulatory developments would be great, but things should go smoothly regardless if proper routes are followed in the meantime.

Crypto Gaming in 2023: What to Expect

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As we go closer and closer to the year 2023, one of the most popular topics of conversation is play-to-earn (P2E) cryptocurrency gaming. This kind of gaming combines the most successful aspects of the cryptocurrency and gaming industries.

More people resorted to internet games as a way to socialize during the COVID-19 pandemic, boosting the development of the gaming industry as a whole. As we enter a new year, it’s becoming apparent that the recent uptick in global growth was no fluke.

A Novel Way to Game

The implementation of blockchain technology in play-to-earn games enables players to earn digital currency payouts depending on their in-game activities. Within the context of the P2E paradigm, players have the option of using cryptocurrencies to get payment for the time they spend participating in gaming activities or delivering other services to other users within the same virtual environment.

What differentiates crypto gaming apart from typical video games is that players, in addition to receiving NFTs, may own their in-game assets and convert them to fiat currency, trade them for other cryptocurrencies, or join a liquidity pool.

Thanks to this novel, community-driven business model, players, and creators may work together and more freely on game content.

A Stronger 2023

Although blockchain gaming and play-to-earn (P2E) enjoyed a surge in popularity during the crypto bull market of 2021, the industry was then struck hard by the arrival of crypto winter, which has been worsened by a couple of high-profile crashes, destroying the valuations of the top P2E firms.

Many speculated, because of the decline in values, that the P2E and gaming industries were only profiting from bull market circumstances, and that the long-term future is grim because of weak adoption rates.

However, there is evidence from recent studies that the predicted demise of P2E may be exaggerated since the vast majority of players are interested in exploring ways to earn cryptocurrency via in-game achievements.

Given that 64% of respondents claimed they had never played a P2E game with monetary benefits, the study findings suggest there is a lot of space for expansion in the P2E industry among existing players. Furthermore, 38% of U.S. gamers indicated they knew nothing about the use of cryptocurrencies, NFTs, or blockchain technology in gaming, suggesting that more education is needed in this area. That is more than enough to induce some growth in the coming year.

Crypto Betting in the Current Crypto Crash

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As a result of the global political and economic turmoil, the cryptocurrency market has deteriorated sharply in recent months. This is the lowest price for bitcoin in the last couple of years. Of course, this has had significant ramifications across a wide range of industries, and the gaming sector is no exception. The bulk of gamblers have converted entirely to bitcoin gaming; thus they are suffering large losses as a result of the collapse of the cryptocurrency market.

There is no way to know for certain whether the value of a bitcoin will increase or fall further in the months to come. The professional perspectives on this topic are all over the place, and there has been no agreement on any definitive conclusions yet.

On the other hand, crypto gaming has emerged as one of the most popular methods used in most casinos over the last few years. Consequently, players who possess significant amounts of Bitcoin have been subjected to rather disastrous outcomes.

Accordingly, by looking at current data, we can see that many gamblers have decided to abstain from betting with bitcoin, at least for now. Instead, they plan to wait to see how the possibility presents itself in the future.

Critical Learning Opportunity

When it comes to crypto gaming, insiders say that there is no cause for excessive panic even though the market collapse has been devastating. A growing number of crypto-friendly casinos have been established during this time. This is because these casino operators have remained confident that the cryptocurrency sector would play a vital role in their futures.

All parties affected by the market crisis will get valuable insight on how to better protect themselves from such events in the future. To protect clients who incurred large financial losses, several consumer protection regulatory laws will also be put into place. For obvious reasons, Bitcoin is in the spotlight, since the value of this one cryptocurrency almost always dictates all others.

Whether or not the economy will recover hinges on how investors respond to these developments. Many people feel that despite the present economic climate, the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will continue to grow. Despite the evidence in favor of this assertion, we nonetheless advise bettors to proceed cautiously and avoid making hasty decisions.

Gambling platforms have now devised a strategy for dealing with the situation at hand. People are encouraged to retain their money in cryptocurrencies since the industry is projected to increase soon. This might take weeks or even months since it is difficult to narrow down specific timelines for those improvements.

Some Crypto Trends to Watch Out For in 2022

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2021 was quite the year for the crypto sector. Many of the popular digital currencies as well as emerging tokens saw a surge in adoption. The industry’s market capitalization reached an all-time high thus further proving its potential. Now, as we embark on a new year, stakeholders and enthusiasts are also starting to think about what to expect.

If the previous year is anything to go by, 2022 is also set to be an action-packed year for crypto. With all the trends that have taken already taken off, there is a lot of optimism about what the future holds. A few of the things that will be worth paying attention to include:

More Mainstream Institutional Interest

Crypto and blockchain have certainly come a long way. The skepticism about the technology and its potential to revolutionize global finance has been fading away. This was largely accelerated by institutional involvement. That is, financial and corporate institutions have also gotten in on crypto.

Decentralized Finance, or DeFi, was one of the many revolutionary developments as financial service providers noticed how beneficial blockchain can be to transaction processing. Cross-border payments especially in developing regions began leveraging the technology and that should only get better in 2022.

More Regulation on the Way

It is not just corporates and the financial sector that are paying attention to crypto. Even government and various state authorities are baying for a seat at the table. One of the ways they will be contributing is through regulatory intervention. This not only intends to bring some sort of stability to the rather volatile market but also seal some loopholes that most skeptics have had concerns about.

We, of course, need to fully assess the impact of crypto and blockchain on the economy before any law comes into effect. 2022 seems to be the best year for that as we have had plenty of time over the past couple of years to see how impactful the sector can be.

NFTs and Web 3.0

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) were all the buzz in 2021. While this was mostly because of the mind-boggling price tags that accompanied them, they carry more significance, especially for artists. It is a great way for them to finance their art and get compensated for the same. 2021 was a great year for NFTs. 2022 is likely to be an even better year.

One other thing that is growing just as fast as NFTs is Web 3.0, that is, the third version of the internet. It comes with a ton of amazing capabilities that will supercharge what we already have. For the crypto industry, Web 3.0 will have a positive impact as the two concepts are closely tied to each other.

MasterCard Warms Up to Crypto Credit and Debit Cards

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The world of crypto is inching closer and closer to mainstream adoption as more of the world’s largest institutions continue to ramp up efforts to be part of the revolution. Mastercard, one of the world’s leading payment services providers, is the most recent organization that is making a big play for crypto.

Recently, the company has revealed its plans to make it easier for its users to use digital currencies. Both customers and merchants with Mastercards will have the opportunity to use debit and credit cards with crypto capabilities. In addition to that, the customers will also have the chance to buy, sell and hold some of the digital currencies. For this group of users, Mastercard is also preparing to launch branded crypto cards.

Partnership With Bakkt

Crypto markets around the globe have grown immensely over the years. While it is certainly not too later for new players to enter the market, success usually depends on having the right partners. Mastercard’s venture into the crypto market is happening via a recently-announced partnership with Bakkt, a digital asset platform popular among crypto users.

As per the terms of the agreement, Bakkt will be working behind the scenes as a provider of custodial service for those who sign for Mastercard’s crypto offering. The crypto firm’s custodial wallets are what will make it possible for users to trade and hold crypto.

“Together with Bakkt and grounded by our principled approach to innovation, we’ll not only empower our partners to offer a dynamic mix of digital assets options but also deliver differentiated and relevant consumer experiences.”

Sherri Haymond, executive vice president of digital partnerships at Mastercard.

In a sense, this is a major extension of a previous announcement Mastercard made regarding allowing crypto transactions via its network. That promise is shaping up quite nicely.

The Implications

Mastercard’s announcement represents a unique opportunity for cryptocurrency expansion in the United States as well as other parts of the world. To begin with, sectors such as online casinos and gaming that rely on crypto will likely have more ways of using digital currencies. Increased interest in crypto is also impacting the interested companies in rather unexpected ways.

For instance, MasterCard stock went up just 0.4% following the announcement. That is modest but it proves that there is interest in the crypto sector. Shares of Bakkt, on the other hand, skyrocketed more than 86% after the announcement. That lifted the company’s market capitalization to about a whopping $850 million.

There Are Now Over 221 Million Crypto Users

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According to a recent report published by Crypto.com, a renowned crypto and bitcoin publisher, the number of cryptocurrency users rose to a whopping 221 million in June 2021. In the ‘Measuring global crypto users: A study to measure market size using on-chain metrics, July 2021’ report, 2021 has been a very good year for the sector. January, February, and April particularly proved to be monumental to the growth. Bitcoin’s bear run had something to do with this but that is just a small piece of the puzzle.

“Bitcoin led growth from January to April, as heavyweight institutions like PayPal, Microstrategy, Visa, and Mastercard announced plans to support crypto. Similarly, Ethereum saw significant growth in May and June as institutional investors continued to favor the token,” reads a section of the report.

Crypto.com leveraged data from some of the world’s top crypto platforms for this study. These include popular names like Binance, Kraken, Bitfinex, BitMEX, Deribit, Liquid, BitFlyer, and even Crypto.com itself. Of the 221 million crypto users, about half were Bitcoin owners. Ethereum, another popular digital currency, also showed its might with about 10 percent of that market share.

While the number of crypto users is certainly very impressive now, even more growth is on the way. 2021 has been quite the year for crypto. The accelerated growth is set to be catalyzed by other developments such as some governments accepting crypto as legal tender.

Is It Time to Invest?

Lots of people have still held out on buying into crypto. The volatility of the space is still a big problem. 2021 has been kinder to cryptocurrencies than other years. There were of course a few low moments for the sector. For many of the hold-outs who missed out on the previous crypto investing frenzies, this might be a very tempting opportunity to go all in.

However, as good as things seem to be, there is no guarantee that we’ll see any more record-breaking highs. This is especially true for 2021. That said, if you are interested in crypto you might need to evaluate why exactly you are buying into it. Crypto is still a very risky investment and this should guide your decisions.

It is possible to find ways to minimize or limit your risk. Still, you need to understand what it is that you are getting yourself into. Ideally, investing in crypto should be more like a long-term investment. With that, it is possible to reap the full benefits of the sector once crypto succeeds.

Formula 1 Enlists Crypto.com as Sprint Series Sponsor

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On Tuesday, June 29, Formula made a grand announcement that it has enlisted Crypto.com to be its inaugural partner for the new Sprint series for 2021. This is not the first partnership between crypto businesses and non-crypto entities. However, it is a very big deal especially considering all the things that it promises with regards to the growth of digital currencies in the mainstream.

Already Crypto.com has amassed a customer base consisting of over 10 million users across the globe. This makes it a valuable partner for Formula 1 and the two can certainly learn and gain a lot from each other.

Fostering Performance and Innovation

As per the terms of the five-year partnership agreement which is projected to be worth over $100 million, Crypto.com will now enjoy brand presence across all F1 events. As mentioned earlier, this will begin with the Sprint qualifying format where Crypto.com will have trackside slots. The first of these will be the British Grand Prix that will go down at Silverstone on July 17.

Speaking on the new development, Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali said that the partnership deal was part of the wider plans to “attract progressive global brands anchored in performance and innovation.” Fans can therefore not only look forward to an exciting new format but also new products. Crypto.com’s commitment to becoming carbon negative also aligns quite well with Formula 1’s sustainability goals which makes the partnership even more promising.

Bringing Cryptos and NFTs to Formula 1

It would be hard to talk about this partnership without mentioning what it means for the crypto industry. Formula 1 is already one of the most prestigious and most popular sporting series on the planet. This makes it a great way to push crypto to the mainstream even further.

In addition to being Formula 1’s Cryptocurrency Sponsor, Crypto.com will also be its official NFT partner. The goal is to democratize the world of crypto for Formula 1 fans through unmatched experiences and education.

“We look forward to many years of innovating together and will begin at the Belgian Grand Prix, where we will present a brand-new award. We are also excited to partner with F1 in the development of exclusive NFTs, connecting fans to the sport in new and innovative ways,” Kris Marszalek, co-founder, and CEO of Crypto.com commented.

It is an exciting time for the world of crypto thanks to all these developments. With more and more businesses beginning to take crypto seriously, we should expect to see even more partnerships and sponsorships in the future.

Renowned Crypto Casino Rollbit Launches Trading Features

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The evolution of the crypto ecosystem continues and now we are not just witnessing the entry of new players but also significant transitions and shifts made by existing members. Rollbit, a renowned crypto casino is one of the latest companies to extend its footprint in the world of crypto.

This move was long overdue as the company’s decisions were already hinting at the possibility of such a shift. It all began on May 10th, 2021 when the operator began to offer its users the opportunity to bet on the price of Bitcoin and Ethereum which are arguably two of the most important digital currencies right now. The platform later went on to add Litecoin and Dogecoin to the mix thus bringing together the most popular digital currencies in a manner that has barely been done before especially by a company of its kind.

By so doing, the operator has been able to establish itself as a leading platform in the crypto space. It is not stopping there though. Now, its next venture involved offering its users a way of enjoying trading digital currencies without having to deal with all of the complexities that are often associated with other crypto trading platforms.

“We’re very excited to offer crypto trading on Rollbit. Our goal was to eliminate the complex nature of trading on traditional crypto exchanges, and the team has certainly done an excellent job. With crypto being extremely popular right now, we couldn’t think of a better time to launch this. Not only are we the first crypto casino to offer crypto trading, but users can also be rewarded for trading on Rollbit as all profit and loss contributes to our lucrative rewards program,” Razer, Rollbit’s co-founder commented on the decision.

It seems this is just the beginning of a totally new segment in the world of crypto casinos.

Market-Leading Features

Rollbit came to the limelight with the launch of X-Roulette, an innovative and provably fair game that has been making waves since February 2020. Just like it did with the game, the platform has entered the crypto-trading space with just as many great and innovative features including:

  • Zero-Fee trading
  • Automatic cashout
  • Up to x1000 leverage
  • A focus on community
  • Additional benefits like cashbacks, bonuses, and rakebacks carried over from the casino

As if that is not enough, the platform’s management has promised that they have no intention to stop delivering innovative products and experiences to their growing customer bases. It only gets better from here and we cannot wait to see the direction that the entire crypto sector will take going forward.

More Institutional Support Coming to Bitcoin

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Bitcoin continues to be the headliner of the crypto industry something that is not too surprising if its recent price surges are anything to go by. The resilience of the sector is perhaps one of its most notable features and it seems more people are finally taking note. That said, it would seem that the dream of mainstream adoption is about to get a major boost going forward.

For a long time, institutional support for crypto seemed to be nothing more than a far-fetched idea. The digital currency’s proponents, however, did not lose hope in that idea.

Governments Soften Their Stance

For the most part, several governments and dozens of central banks have not been very friendly to Bitcoin and other digital currencies. This is no longer the case in some places, especially in the United States. For instance, dozens of local municipalities across the country are already mulling over putting their city treasury into bitcoin.

Admittedly, this can be attributed to the younger generation of leaders who are way more crypto-friendly compared to their older counterparts. Their stance when it comes to Bitcoin and crypto, in general, is a great launchpad for wider adoption and serves as a pretty neat policy experimentation. It all boils down to time – all is needed is for more crypto-friendly and forward-thinking politicians and regulators to climb up the leadership ranks.

The idea of decentralization which is part of bitcoin’s identity has long been debated but experimentation has shown the potential of such a move. More localities could soon start adopting Bitcoin and legislators could also start accepting bitcoin contributions.

More Corporate Backing

Publicly traded companies have also joined the bandwagon. Several corporate treasuries are buying lots of bitcoin and this is expected to nudge even more publicly traded companies to do the same even if their lines of business do not directly relate to bitcoin.

Back in 2017, the retail investors were at the helm of the bitcoin revolution and now that they have done their part, it is time to pass on the baton. The current surge in bitcoin’s growth is now likely to be driven by family offices as well as high net-worth individuals many of whom have had to sideline their ideological convictions of bitcoin.

All things considered, the inevitability of the rise of crypto is becoming clearer by the day. Even central banks are likely not to have much of a say when it comes to the direction that the industry heads to – it will grow bigger with or without their approval.

Crypto Market Booms as World Ushers in A New Year

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2020 was, without a doubt, one of the worst years of the past decade. The coronavirus pandemic dealt a huge blow to societies, businesses, and industries all around the world – most of these are, in fact, yet to recover.

Even so, thanks to all of the efforts that were meant to help the world return to normal, things began to get better as the end of 2020 drew nearer. The stock market, for instance, was slowly approaching record highs and the same applied to crypto which is considered to be an alternative to the existing financial system.

Bitcoin Breaks Records

This digital currency is widely considered to be the mother of all crypto and has been known to break several records throughout the time that it has existed. As of December 31, Bitcoin was trading for a little over $29,000 per coin. The previous record for the digital currency was $20,000 and experts believe that the cryptocurrency will probably hit the $30,000 mark pretty soon.

Over the last six months, interest in Bitcoin and crypto, in general, has increased significantly. So, while Bitcoin might be well ahead of the pack, it is not the only one that has been breaking records. Alt-coins like Litecoin and Ether have also seen their prices go up significantly, something that has boosted the overall crypto markets. Several other digital currencies have also been on the rise.

What Does 2021 Hold?

Needless to say, the latest price surges for digital currencies have continued to fuel discussions about the readiness of crypto to go to even greater heights in terms of mainstream adoption. In the case of Bitcoin which is now being likened to gold, there are lots of people who already see it as a great hedge against dollar weakness and inflation risk. At that same time, some people are still questioning its validity as an asset class especially considering its rather volatile nature.

Still, if the past few months are anything to go by, 2021 could turn out to be an even more memorable year for crypto and related technologies as well as their applications. Most notably, the rapidly growing acceptance of these alternative currencies will pave way for even more developments such as a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

This will not only open the doors for new investors but also create new opportunities or uncover untapped spaces that disruptive companies can exploit. As always, we will be keeping you updated every step of the way. Happy New Year!