If we’re talking about game-changers, one of the few things that can fully claim that title is cryptocurrency. In fact, the pandemic has caused a big boom for cryptocurrency. As of December 2020, Bitcoin, the most circulated crypto on the market, has been experiencing an all-time high value of $23,000.
Other cryptos such as Ethereum have also experienced similar spikes in value. After all, 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
Given crypto’s monetary nature, banks will be the first to benefit from the currency. 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. Cryptos are built using blockchain technology. 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.
Online retail
Speaking of international trade, global scaling is one of the biggest contributions of crypto in online retail. Since payments don’t need to be converted, buyers can skip the fees, making international purchases more appealing. Amazon, Home Depot, and Microsoft are some retailers that allow the use of crypto for online shopping.
Crypto platforms will also often offer credit cards, which makes transactions 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.
Poker
Online poker is an industry that 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.
But for all the economic benefits that online poker has to give, it still isn’t legal in many states. This is where the digital currency comes in. According to poker writer Jon Sofen, crypto could be the key to legalizing online poker in the US, as the currency is purchased through an exchange platform or cash app, instead of a bank. So, even if online poker is banned in your state, you can exchange your money for crypto and use those to play (as long as the site accepts crypto as currency). Already, several online poker sites like Americas Cardroom, GGPoker, and Bovada do this.
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. Online gaming shop Gamivo and PC gaming platform Steam are examples of entities that accept crypto as payment. Crypto’s heightened security has also been a big help in protecting gaming accounts from being hacked.
Cryptos are changing many industries by providing a faster and safer way to transact, and with lower costs. As more people buy and sell using crypto, it’ll eventually loosen the monopoly that governs our economy. You can read more about the potential of cryptocurrencies in one of our previous posts.
