Are NFTs Headed to Gaming?

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Cryptocurrencies are perhaps one of the most notable developments of the past decade or so and they continue to spawn even more innovations. Now, one of the most talked-about aspects of the crypto landscape is non-fungible tokens otherwise known as NFTs.

What Are NFTs?

As it is with several aspects of the crypto industry, NFTs are still not understood by everyone which is totally understandable. They are simply collectible digital assets that hold value as a form of cryptocurrency and as a form of art or culture. The reason why they are such a big deal is that they are a way to create both scarcity and uniqueness to digital art. You can also think of it as a new vessel of distribution and ownership for an already rather experimental medium.

How This Relates to Online Casinos

Well, if history is anything to go by, the casino industry is likely to pick up on this new buzz much like did with other emerging technologies. Today, bettors can leverage some of the latest technologies on their gambling platforms of choice. These include things like digital currencies, live betting, and even other arguably niche technologies like Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR).

Now, if we consider the massive popularity of NFT, it is almost guaranteed that a massive push for its adoption in the online gaming world will be a reality soon. The rise of such activities like eSports also serves to prove the potential of the new technology as a way to take online gambling and gaming to the next level.

In many ways, the NFT blockchain network, online gaming, and the online casino industry seem to be built in such a way that they complement each other. Some companies have already begun investing in that future and they are already projecting some pretty impressive returns from that.

Should You Jump In?

People are already trading NFTs which sort of gives it a start that is much like the launch of digital currencies in the early 2010s. However, the phenomenon is still marred in quite a bit of skepticism just in the same way that digital currencies were in the beginning. All things considered, jumping in at this very moment is mainly a question of how much faith you have in what is arguably the future of gambling, art, and entertainment.

There is still a long way to go and a lot to learn before everything falls to place as projected but there are lots of people who are more than happy to be a part of that journey. Are you one of them?

PayPal’s Crypto Checkout Service Goes Live

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Last October, global payments service provider PayPal announced that it was working on rolling out a “Checkout with Crypto” feature on its platform. This, as expected, was met with a lot of enthusiasm and excitement especially because of what it meant for the crypto sector. Crypto was already well on its way to mainstream adoption and this would certainly be a huge leap forward.

On March 31, 2021, the company finally rolled out the feature. Now its customers in the United States can use the digital currencies they hold to pay at millions of PayPal’s online merchants across the globe. The ability to use crypto in their PayPal wallets is made possible by the company’s robust system which will be responsible for converting the crypto holdings to fiat currency – this is the only way that the transactions will be completed.

Still, it is a pretty impressive development. Not only does it make using crypto particularly easy even for newbies but it also builds on the crypto trading features that the company has been adding to its platform. According to PayPal President and CEO Dan Schulman, the timing is just right for this.

“We think it is a transitional point where cryptocurrencies move from being predominantly an asset class that you buy, hold and or sell to now becoming a legitimate funding source to make transactions in the real world at millions of merchants,” he commented.

Global Roll Out Coming Soon

The United States is just the beginning for PayPal’s new feature. In addition to giving the company a view of what to expect going forward, the move to begin the rollout in the United States will serve as a launchpad for further expansion in other parts of the world. A gradual rollout of the “Checkout with Crypto” feature is set to follow very soon with the company looking to bring it to over 200 countries where it is currently operating in.

PayPal is not the first company to double down on its efforts to tap into the crypto ecosystem – companies like Tesla and Square have already been making the headlines with similar ventures. However, the payments service provider is taking a unique approach. One of its main priorities will be dealing with the volatility that Bitcoin and other digital currencies are known for. This is why it converts the crypto to fiat before completing the transactions.

It is also worth noting that there will be no service fees for the feature which is quite good to see since it lives up to one of the promises of crypto. Also, only one type of cryptocurrency will be used for each transaction, at least for now.

More Institutional Support Coming to Bitcoin

Reading Time: 2 minutes

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.

Visa Doubles Down on Its Plans for Crypto

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The crypto market has certainly come a long way since the first digital currency was launched and it is now more mature than ever before. Lots of things have changed and perhaps the most exciting development is the widespread interest that major financial and payment institutions have shown.

Global financial and payment service provide Visa is one of the most notable companies that are making a huge play for the crypto market. Already the company has ties with some popular crypto platforms such as Fold, BlockFi, and Crypto.com. However, according to Visa CEO Alfred Kelly, there is so much more in the pipeline.

Crypto Could Be Coming to Visa’s Payment Network

Last Thursday during the company’s Q1 earnings call, the chairman ad CEO reaffirmed Visa’s commitment to crypto which is likely to culminate in digital currencies directly on the Visa network. Kelly firmly believes that the company is well-positioned to add “differentiated value to the ecosystem.” This will essentially involve making crypto safe, useful, and more applicable for global payments.

“..it goes without saying, to the extent a specific digital currency becomes a recognized means of exchange, there’s no reason why we cannot add it to our network, which already supports over 160 currencies today.”
Visa chairman and CEO Alfred Kelly

The strategy is firmly anchored on working with wallets and exchanges to allow users to purchase crypto using their Visa credentials. Similarly, it will also mean that users can cash out their crypto onto Visa credentials.

The Favorites

Well, even though Visa has previously claimed that it does not want to play favorites when it comes to the digital currencies that it will allow on its network, the recent announcement seems to be pointing at something quite different. The company seems to be handling the cryptocurrencies differently based on which category they fall on.

The two categories that the company is using to group blockchain assets are based on whether they are a store of value or are stable coins. Visa intends to angle crypto assets that serve as a store-of-value such as Bitcoin to serve as fiat on-ramp.

However, when it comes to stable coins, the company has been rather bullish. These sentiments may be quite disappointing since they seem to overlook all of the amazing milestones that Decentralized Finance (DeFi) made in 2020. Even JP Morgan Chase which has been showing interest in digital assets has shared the same sentiments.

Crypto Market Booms as World Ushers in A New Year

Reading Time: 2 minutes

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!

BitBoss Breaks New Ground for Bitcoin SV Gambling

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Crypto-powered online gambling has achieved yet another great milestone thanks to a recent move by BitBoss, one of the fastest-growing crypto-first online gambling platforms. The operator has made history by launching the very first blackjack game to run entirely on-chain, something that certainly means a lot for the future of the online gambling industry.

Now, the integration of online casino games with blockchain technology has not been very easy to pull off especially due to the current technological limitations. BitBoss has, however, found some workarounds that have made it possible for the company to pull off such a fete.

Players can look forward to the same level of quality when playing on-chain poker with BitBoss due to the impressive optimizations that have been implemented in the game. All of the bets, as well as the results of the games, are transactions on the very popular Bitcoin SV blockchain which means that they offer all the benefits of the technology. These benefits include transparency, accessibility, immutability as well as the utilization of some untapped potential.

According to Alex Shore, the BitBoss. CTO, the company went a step further with the blackjack offering since blackjack is a multi-action game. All of that action is recorded on the blockchain which comes with some other benefits. Perhaps the most notable benefit is that everything is provably fair and therefore there is no need to build off-chain technology and try to scale it later.

New Exchange Services

In addition to the new blackjack offering, BitBoss’ Dragon BSV Casino is also now allowing customers to convert whatever digital currency they may have to Bitcoin SV (BSV). Some of the popular digital currencies that users can trade on the platform include BTC, ETH, XRP, TRX, XMR, LTC, USDT, and USDC. In addition to offering their users unmatched convenience, BitBoss is looking to achieve much more with the exchange services it is now offering.

The most important goal for the company seems to be to show the world just how powerful the Bitcoin SV blockchain is. Moreover, this will serve as a way to elevate the popularity of Bitcoin SV – the digital currency is already making headlines due to its stability especially when compared to the likes of Bitcoin.

The developments that BitBoss unveiled came just a short while after the Bitcoin Association announced that the first Bitcoin SV Technical Standard Committee-commissioned standard is ready for public review. This just marks the beginning of a potentially impressive upward trajectory for BitBoss as it inches close to mainstream adoption.

PayPal Finally Allows Users to Buy, Sell and Hold Crypto

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The gradual mainstream acceptance of digital currencies has recently made a huge leap forward after PayPal, one of the world’s most popular payment services, entered the digital currency market. Its customers will now be able to buy, sell, hold and spend digital or virtual currencies including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin among others.

Thankfully, the rollout of this new measure is already underway in the United States. A global rollout will follow but the earliest this will happen is next year. PayPal users from non-US customers will therefore have to wait a little longer before they can be able to transact using these virtual currencies. The stated timeline is, however, very encouraging.

How Will It Work?

As mentioned above, PayPal has already laid out a roadmap for the new development. In case you are wondering how the new system works, here is a brief explanation of what to expect. Whenever you use any of the accepted digital currencies to pay someone on PayPal, the payment service provider will convert the amount to the equivalent national currency. Sent amounts will not be received in the virtual currencies themselves. This can be rather disappointing but perhaps some changes will be made soon.

For now, the plan seems to revolve around getting as many people on board as possible. Their goal is “to increase consumer understanding and adoption of cryptocurrency. As part of this offering, PayPal will provide account holders with educational content to help them understand the cryptocurrency ecosystem.”

Naturally, the move has been met with some criticism. For instance, renowned economist Nouriel Roubini believes that the decision to bring digital currencies to the service is the same as “crypto gambling”. This kind of criticism is, of course, expected but there is a pretty huge possibility that more people will come around in the not so distant future.

Why This Is A Big Deal

It goes without saying that this is a pretty big milestone for the crypto community. Businesses such as online casinos that have been paying out winning in crypto will, for instance, have an extra option. It really helps that PayPal is already an established brand with a very robust customer base.

For PayPal, this move represents a unique opportunity for customer engagement. More digital currency users are definitely going to be giving the payment service provider way more attention now.

Trustbet.io Becomes First Brand to Launch on DAOPlatform

Reading Time: 2 minutes

DAOPlatform which is one of the partners of renowned crypto-first company DAOGroup has recently welcomed Trustbet.io to its pioneering online gambling platform. The online gambling operator becomes the very first betting brand to go live on the DAOBet blockchain-based online gambling platform. Needless to say, this is a pretty huge move for both companies as they seek to expand their footprints further in the rapidly-growing crypto-powered iGaming sector.

Trustbet.io’s Expansion Plans

For Trustbet.io, this represents a unique opportunity that will see it benefit from the pioneering online gambling platform while getting to leverage all of the various synergies available on the DAOBet blockchain. The online gambling operator is pretty young and this partnership will certainly act as a catalyst of sorts to its growth.

Thankfully, the Trustbet team was treated to exceptionally rapid deployment with the main points of focus being natively agile design as well as the easy-to-configure deposit and max bet limit feature which comes into play during game selection.

Trustbet.io initially went live via a community-focused launch in mid-August – this turned out to be very successful thus prompting the company to extend its footprint further across a number of jurisdictions including markets in Africa, the CIS, Europe as well as Latin America.

At launch, the online gambling platform online had five casino games to offers its customers. These were Blackjack, Dice, Baccarat, Three Card Brag, and High Card. All of them featured tamper-proof on-chain Random Number Generators (RNGs) that have been certified and approved by GLI. Moreover, the online gambling platform also lets customers enjoy several other perks including instant payouts, no deposit requirements, ultra-fast game finality as well as low-cost transactions.

Another Huge Leap for DAOGroup

Needles to say, the launch of the online gambling site om DAOPlatform is definitely a huge deal for the company. DAO has been working very hard to push its blockchain-based ecosystem and robust range of products and this will assist with that significantly.

“We’re very excited to showcase the DAOPlatform and its cutting-edge performance with such a quality brand as TrustBet.io; and, with their initial success proving the product, we look forward to rolling it out to further brands and help shape the future of iGaming,” DAOGroup’s CCO Glen Bullen commented.

One of the other things that DAOGroup will be pushing as part of its new deal with Trustbet.io is its crypto-fiat gateway DAOWallet. This is a very exciting development for the crypto industry as a whole especially because it implies that even more people or gamblers, in this case, are going to have access to digital currencies.

Crypto Developments to Watch Out for in September

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The crypto market is quite dynamic and this has been the case for quite some time as the market players strive to push it further. The sector is yet to reach certain heights especially with regards to mainstream adoption. Even so, the evolution and relative maturity of the sector cannot go unnoticed.

2020 has been a tough year in many ways but, as always, nearly all sectors are finding ways of maintaining some level of normalcy. The crypto is one of these sectors – there have been a few notable developments and even more to come.

This month, there are lots of developments that you might need to pay attention to if you have an interest in the sector. Here is a round-up of a few the most notable ones.

The Ethereum 2.0 Upgrade

Ethereum planned to launch its long-awaited Ethereum 2.0 upgrade in the fall, something that could come to pass as early as before the end of September. This upgrade is a pretty big deal not just because Ethereum is one of the most popular digital currencies but also because of all the improvements it will be bringing. There is a major emphasis on security and scalability which are some of the most vital things when it comes to further adoption of the digital currency as well as the related technology.

For Ethereum miners, the upgrade, according to Ethereum 2.0, will mean the reduction of power consumption by up to 99 percent. Needless to say, this is pretty big especially considering the fact that crypto mining uses as much energy as small nations.

Tighter Regulation in South Africa

Crypto enthusiasts and holders in South Africa also need to get ready for stricter taxations if a recent proposal is passed. Just like in many other countries across the globe, South African authorities have had some concerns regarding the use of crypto for tax evasion.

The proposed law simply intends to solve this problem but its effectiveness cannot be determined at this point in time. Still, it is a monumental change that will have far-reaching effects on the crypto sector.

Next-Generation DeFi

Decentralized finance, otherwise referred to as DeFi, has been all the buzz for a better part of 2020. The concept presents crypto users with new opportunities especially with regards to the fact they could earn interest from the digital currencies they may be holding.

Perhaps the most notable name when it comes to the DeFi conversation is Beam. This digital currency has combined DeFi with privacy. An update titles Eager Electron is coming in September and it is set to bring even more improvements.

BitBoss Launches Dragon BSV Casino on Android

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Since its launch, BitBoss has been working very hard to ensure that its users are treated to nothing short of the best Bitcoin SV (BSV) experiences. The company is one of the man operators that are looking to tap into the concept of provably fair gaming which has been around for years but has only recently begun to gain the traction that it deserves. The launch of BitBoss’s new Android gambling app is one of the ways that the concept is being implemented.

Refereed to as Dragon BSV Casino, the new Android exclusive online gambling platform primarily uses bitcoin which is the most popular digital currency. It will, however, be available to iOS users very soon. The users can, therefore, look forward to being able to enjoy the convenience of playing on-the-go without having to worry about such things as security, exorbitant costs, or slow transaction processing speeds.

The Game Collection

Obviously, other than all of the crypto and blockchain-related perks that the app will be offering, many gamers will be primarily interested in the games that it has to offer. To begin with, it will launch with Lottery, Roulette, and Baccarat games which are already very popular. It will not stop there though as the operator also has plans to add other amazing game titles including Blackjack and Sic Bo.

“We are always expanding this library so you can add, remove, or trade out games anytime to make your own personal casino more enjoyable.”
The BitBoss website.

Thankfully, BitBoss already supports external gaming content providers to offer their games through the BitBoss ecosystem. This is a pretty strategic move as it implies that the library of games could grow very big as more partner companies come on board.

Why Bitcoin SV?

The Bitcoin SV (BSC) blockchain has evolved and matured so immensely that it is now arguably the best network to host provably fair games. This has been made possible by the fact that it has shifted its focus from the electronic cash itself and put a lot more emphasis on expanding the network so as to allow unlimited scalability. Security, stability, and efficiency have also remained a major priority.

Moreover, there are several other benefits of using the BSV with one of the most notable ones being cost reduction since only lightweight servers are needed. Only lightweight servers are needed since instead of hosting all of the results on private databases, everything is written on the blockchain. For many gamblers, this is a very enticing feature especially considering the fact that everything is verifiable and auditable.

The recent push for cashless payment ecosystems put BitBoss at a very unique position where it will be able to offer its robust system and technology to the rapidly growing online gaming and sports betting industries.