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India’s Parliament Proposes Crypto Ban

Posted on February 2, 2021 by Laura P.

Last week, news broke of a proposal by the Indian parliament to ban what they termed as “private” cryptocurrencies. Now, crypto has always been on the sights of several governments around the world but not a lot has been done to threaten the sector in most jurisdictions. India is, on the other hand, a little different hence the attention.

As it stands, the country’s ruling party has control over both houses of Parliament which implies that there is a huge possibility that the proposed bill could become law. Known as the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021, the new proposal seeks to outlaw the use of crypto in India.

However, this does not mean that India will be completely cutting ties with crypto. Instead of the so-called “private” cryptocurrencies, the Indian government will be shifting its focus to providing a framework for creating an official digital currency. This will be overseen by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) which will not only distribute the currency but also regulate it.

The Industry Reacts

This is not the first time that India has made controversial proposals with regards to the crypto sector and, as expected, the move has generated some buzz. Both local and international crypto investors have already weighed in on the issue.

To begin with, many members of the crypto industry have been very open to the idea of the government developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). This not only affirms the strength of crypto as a worthy replacement of fiat currency.

However, crypto stakeholders are not too happy about the plans by the country’s parliament to term certain digital currencies as “private”. In essence, any cryptocurrency that is not sovereign, including bitcoin, may be prohibited.

It is worth noting that, as it stands, there is no certainty about which specific digital currencies will be affected. This is because the government is also considering some unspecified exceptions in a bid to promote the underlying blockchain technology.

“The digital currency bill to be introduced in the Lok Sabha is a welcome step. Its success will depend on the details, particularly the definition of what the bill calls ‘private cryptocurrencies’. This is not a common term. Bitcoin is not privately owned by anyone. It is a public good, like the internet,” said Rahul Pagdipati, CEO of ZebPay.

A consensus among industry stakeholders is that these crypto-assets and the government’s digital currency are more than capable of coexisting. Hopefully, more consultations will be conducted to ensure that the new laws can adopt a more forward-looking approach.

Cloudbet Unveils New Suite of Games Under Arcade Tab

Posted on January 2, 2021January 1, 2021 by Laura P.

Renowned crypto-firsts online betting platform Cloudbet has had a pretty busy 2020. The operator has over the past year been able to launch several new and innovative products all of which were heartily welcome by its massive customer base. However, that is not all that the company. To round up the year and give its customers a gift to bring to 2021, Cloudbet has recently unveiled a suite of exciting, provably fair games. All of these titles are now available under the newly-created Arcade tab on the operator’s website.

One of the things that Cloudbet is popular for is the outstanding quality of the games that it offers its customers. The same applies to its new selection of provably fair arcade games which will include some amazing titles like Aviator, Mines, Dice, and Plinko.

Already these games are getting a lot of attention from crypto and arcade game enthusiasts. Most people within the crypto community will probably already be familiar with the particularly because they are all timeless favorites that have received praise from the crypto community since their launch a little over ten years ago. For instance, Aviator is just an updated taken on the classic crypto game Crash – if you loved this game then you will probably really enjoy Aviator.

A Long Time Coming

As it turns out, the launch of the new arcade games is partly in response to customer feedback – apparently lots of people had been looking forward to the return of these arcade games. According to one of Cloudbet’s spokespeople, their customers had been asking for the inclusion of class crypto games that were available elsewhere.

The move is therefore not too surprising especially considering that the company has said time and time again that it is very committed to bringing in content and features that matter to its customers. As a result, the crypto-powered iGaming platform has been able to grow big enough that it is now considered to be the ultimate one-stop-shop for those looking for an amazing experience while playing their favorite crypto games.

More Developments

In addition to bringing several new features such as better sports odds and a state-of-the-art betting platform, Cloudbet has also been extending its reach in the crypto space. In 2020, the company added a record six digital currencies to its portfolio. This brings the total number of currencies currently supported by the platform to a 9 and summed up, this accounts for nearly 80 percent of the total market capitalization of all digital currencies.

Hamster-Powered Marble Races Come to Ethereum

Posted on December 2, 2020December 1, 2020 by Laura P.

Crypto gambling continues to grow thanks to several innovative developments that have been causing quite a stir in the gambling industry. We have already seen lots of amazing innovations but, as it turns out, there is so much more to come. The latest development in the sector has come in the form of a new model of gaming.

Referred to as “Mia & the Marbles” the new model of gambling that is now available on Ethereum has been in development for over two years. It is a pretty ambitious project that has the potential to shake up the crypto gambling sector in many ways.

How Does It Work?

Mia & the Marbles (M&M) is powered by Mia, a female Djungarian or “winter white dwarf” hamster, and her trusty hamster wheel. With the help of a group of accomplished developers, Mia and her wheel make some very fun and engaging marble races possible. The result is a very unique and surprisingly robust marble-racing and wagering platform.

Needless to say, this is a rather unusual form of gambling but it is implementation has proven that there is indeed room for such extraordinary ideas. Speaking on the project, the developers behind Mia & the Marbles affirmed that participants can rest assured that they will be treated to all the benefits that come with Ethereum. That is, all the marble races are provably fair, provably live, and easily-verifiable.

“We can guarantee that the races are taking place in real-time and are not pre-recorded. We do this with our provably live video stream that shows the first 8 bits of the current Ethereum blockhash physically on the race track with 8 movable pegs. A high peg stands for a 1, a low peg for a 0.”

Also integrated into the new model of gambling is a compensation service. This has been put in place to sort out any races where accurate results cannot be introduced after two days.

More to Come?

Many ambitious projects are currently being pursued in the crypto gambling space but, as expected, not many of them see the light of day. The M&M project’s success is, however, proof that with the right kind of push, just about anything is possible. Even though the form of gambling the new game introduces stands out quite a bit for being unusual, the strong push for fair gambling was certainly bound to turn some heads.

That said, there are lots of opportunities in the online gambling and crypto sectors which means that M&M is probably just the beginning of even more launches.

Cloudbet Now Allows Betting with Gold

Posted on November 2, 2020November 1, 2020 by Laura P.

Pioneering crypto casino and sportsbook Cloudbet has been known for pushing some of the biggest developments in the crypto betting industry. The company has been working very hard to push its business forward and in mid-October, it debuted yet another significant feature that has sent ripples through the sector. Cloudbet customers will are now able to bet online with gold.

Pax Gold otherwise referred to as PAXG, will be one of the many forms of payment that will be available to the platform’s users. Every unit of PAXG is backed by one fine troy ounce of a gold bar. The physical gold assets are in this case held in custody by the Paxos Trust Company. For many people, this makes the gambling platform more attractive since the virtual currencies in use are tied to physical assets and are therefore inherently more stable.

The historical decision to allow crypto users to bet using gold is, without a doubt, a very unique milestone for the evolution of the crypto sector especially with regards to the tokenization of physical assets. This simply means that gold has been made divisible, tradeable, and much easier to exchange on the online space thanks to smart contracts and blockchain technology.

According to a spokesperson from Cloudbet, this decision is definitely customer-centered in as much as it is also going to benefit the company significantly. The goal is to allow their users to “express their spending habits through the assets they choose to hold, rather than having to use currencies to which they hold no philosophical or economic attachments.”

The Stablecoin Revolution

PAXG is not the only stablecoin that Cloudbet customers have access to. The online gambling platform has already integrated USD Tether and USD Coin which are by far the most popular stablecoins on the planet at the moment. Clearly, Cloudbet is going all-in on when it comes to these rather special virtual currencies.

The reason for this is pretty simple. As hinted earlier, while stablecoins also offer all the best traits of cryptocurrencies, they are most popular because they are tied to physical assets or fiat currency. This makes them a much safer bet for just about anyone. Newbies are more likely to trust these than opt for other forms of cryptocurrency that are infamously volatile.

All in all, since they are the fastest-growing types of digital currencies at the moment, it will not be too surprising to see Cloudbet and other iGaming operators integrate even newer stablecoins in the near future.

The Rise of Crypto Online Casinos During the Lockdown

Posted on September 2, 2020September 1, 2020 by Laura P.

The online gambling sector is already a pretty big deal with its value expected to rise to a whopping $125 billion by 2025. Needless to say, these are some pretty huge figures but considering all of the developments that have been going on in the sector, it is hard to dismiss these claims. If there is a time where online gambling showed its might it is during the lockdowns and shutdowns that followed the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic across the globe.

The gambling sector is pretty huge but nearly all sectors saw tremendous plunges in revenues and operation. Online gambling, on the other hand, actually rose quite significantly. An uptick in iGaming traffic was expected but no one would have imagined that would to the extents that we have witnessed.

As always, crypto and blockchain are playing a huge role in this transition. Innovation is an important aspect of the sector’s growth and one of the areas where we have seen some of the most developments is in the utilization of digital currencies and related technologies.

One of the things that have been key to the developments in the sector is the concept of the casino of the future. The pandemic and all of its impacts have fast-tracked a number of things. Now, rather than just thinking about the casino of the future, we are pondering over what gambling and entertainment will look like post-COVID-19.

Decentraland and Post-COVID Gambling

There are tons of ways that crypto has been used in casinos but perhaps the most exciting development as of this writing is the emergence of Decentraland which is essentially a crypto-centric version of Second Life. It is the very first Ethereum-powered space that is a fully user-owned virtual habitat where the currency used is referred to as non-fungible token (NFT).

This very ambitious project stands particularly because it exists in perpetuity. This means that it cannot be shut down and since it is virtual, it cannot be impacted directly by such things as pandemics. In fact, the virtual habitat already has space for all things casinos and entertainment. Crypto Valley, its large virtual business district has a casino and even virtual conference facilities that are working exceptionally well despite the project is just beginning to catch our attention.

Everything is divided into quarters in Decentraland and each serves a purpose. Speaking on the development, the masterminds behind this innovative venture pointed out how “each quarter presents a different context for gaming, from the out and out glitz of the Casino Quarter, to sophisticated gaming rooms with Las Vegas-style stage shows in the Entertainment Quarter.”

Clearly, the casino of the future is going to be a very fun place to go to, and maybe it might arrive sooner than we expected.

Binance Partners with Swipe for Crypto Card

Posted on July 3, 2020 by Laura P.

The crypto community has welcomed great thanks to a new move by Binance that will make crypto payments much easier and more familiar than ever before. Thanks to the partnership between the huge crypto exchange and Swipe, users of digital currencies may soon be able to use a crypto credit card for their payments.

Rumors of a potential partnership between Binance and Swipe have been floating around for quite some time. It was initially anticipated that Binance was planning to buy a majority stake in the crypto startup. While the page that details the partnership has since been taken down, there is enough evidence suggesting that Binance is well on its ways in disrupting the payment card ecosystem.

The first time that Binance unveiled its crypto debit card was back in March. According to the company, the move was meant to give crypto users a fiat gateway through which they pay for goods and services. The hype seemed to have cooled off but that is perhaps because the company was working on getting a partner to push that particular project to even greater heights.

Thankfully, the goal of the crypto card is not just to cater to existing crypto users – it is also quite easy to see that it is geared towards appealing to non-crypto users as well. The card has been advertised as being very similar to other bank-issued cards which means that it will certainly be just as easier to use. Moreover, preregistration for the card cost as a little as $15 which may have been quite the incentive for more adoption of crypto.

The Rise of Crypto Cards

Crypto card usage is not even close to peaking, at least not yet. This is very understandable considering the massive interest that both individuals and companies have shown towards crypto. Even PayPal has reportedly been considering direct sales of crypto and Visa may also be pursuing similar ambitions. These alone are enough to prove that perhaps its time to take crypto to the next level. That said, crypto cards are going to be a huge part of the next phase of the payments revolution.

We can, however, not overlook the issues that have already cropped up in the space. For instance, crypto debit cards that were issued by Wirecard stopped working after the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) suspended Wirecard Card Solutions (WCS. This is a very big deal especially because of the picture it paints of the gaming industry. Still, it is a great opportunity for the industry to learn and find ways to ensure more reliability. Maybe that is why Binance is so cautious about its next move.

CryptoSlots Joins the Fight Against Coronavirus

Posted on May 2, 2020 by Laura P.

The efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic are still in place and thankfully, many of the businesses that we know and love have also stepped in to aid in the fight. The gambling industry has not been left behind as several gaming businesses have been using proceeds from gambling for a good cause. One of the most notable ones is CryptoSlots.

The crypto-based online slots platform has recently released Micro Monsters, a new slot game that has gained a lot of popularity for the amazing features that it offers. These included bonus extras that make it one of the most exciting crypto-based games in existence. That is not the only thing that makes the game exciting though.

CryptoSlots has pledged to donate all of the proceeds from the new game to Direct Relief which is a charity that is currently supporting both the COVID-19 patients as well as the health workers that are catering to them. The charity’s main focus has been the provision of personal protective gear for those who are at high risk and therefore any kind of help they can get will be vital to their operations.

“Hopefully this contribution will make a difference to those on the front line as well as providing entertainment to those doing their part by staying at home,” said CryptoSlots manager Michael Hilary.

Players can even take part by taking advantage of the amazing bonuses designed just for this. Using the FIGHTCOVID100 bonus code, Micro Monsters will be able to claim a 100 percent match bonus on their deposits.

More Efforts

In addition to offering assistance to organizations that are directly trying to help in the fight against COVID-19, many others have been trying to offer other kinds of support services to other people. The world needs all the help it can get and these efforts are certainly appreciated.

One notable case of this is the efforts by SmartSessions, an Ehtereum-based cryptocurrency paywall that is helping firms and individuals take payments for their services via Zoom. As such, service providers such as teachers, yoga, and gym instructors among other professionals whose businesses have been affected by the pandemic can keep making a living.

App aside, there has been a notable increase in hires from several crypto exchanges despite overall job losses across the world. This can be attributed to speculations regarding a potential Bitcoin bull run which might result from the halving that is set to happen sometime this month. There is a lot of optimism regarding the rise in interest in digital assets hence the hiring spree. It goes without saying that hearing news about people get jobs is quite good. The outcome of all this, however, remains to be seen.

The Atari Group Extends Its Footprint in the World of Crypto

Posted on April 2, 2020 by Laura P.

It is becoming increasingly important for many companies to innovate and reinvent themselves especially because of the dynamic nature of the gaming industry. One of the most lucrative ventures for most sectors is the blockchain and digital currencies. These two are increasingly shaping themselves up to become the future of many industries and that makes them quite important for many companies.

Atari® has been looking to capitalize on cryptocurrencies for quite a while and it has followed through with these plans by not only inking lucrative partnerships but also launching its own crypto products. The company is clearly very determined to maintain its position as one of the leading gaming providers in the world.

Atari’s Games Coming to The Sandbox

One of Atari’s most recent partnerships is with Animoca Brands and its subsidiary TSB Gaming Limited who are the creators of the revolutionary blockchain-based gaming metaverse known as The Sandbox. As per the terms of the newly-inked partnership, voxelized versions of Atari’s popular games including classics such as Steroids®, Centipede®, Pong®, and RollerCoaster Tycoon® will become available in The Sandbox.

This a great leap forward for both companies especially because they will be making history by creating the very first virtual Atari theme park on the blockchain. Their customers will, therefore, have a lot of fun in the virtual worlds that have been inspired by Atari.

“This exciting collaboration with The Sandbox also expands and deepens Atari’s strategic involvement in blockchain-powered and cryptocurrency-fueled entertainment,” Frédéric Chesnais, Atari CEO commented.

The Sandbox is going to be a great partner for Atari especially because it boasts of being among the largest independent user-generated content and gaming platforms in the world. Its over one million monthly active users is proof of this. This number is certainly set to rise once the voxel-based blockchain version of The Sandbox launched later this year.

Atari’s Tokens and Crypto Casino

Mid-last month, Atari announced that it will be making an initial coin offering (ICO) to launch a cryptocurrency casino. The blockchain project will also see the launch of a cryptocurrency token known as the Atari Token which will be used in their crypto casino. This Atari Token will also be available on The Sandbox.

In addition to the Atari Token, the company also plans to launch another token project. The other token project is known as the Pong Token and is primarily geared towards the Kenyan market where Atari happens to hold an operator’s license.

Crypto Facilitates Illegal Gambling in Asia, Report Claims

Posted on March 2, 2020March 2, 2020 by Laura P.

A recent report compiled after a study of the Asian marker revealed that there has been an upsurge on illegal and unregulated crypto-based gambling. This has been attributed to the meteoric rise of digital currencies and the advancement of blockchain technology over the past few years. The report further showed details and highlights of how big the crypto-gambling industry has grown with the gamblers now being able to place bets that are substantially higher than what they could before.

Illegal gambling activities are still a huge problem across the globe. In Asia alone, the market was estimated to be worth a whopping $400 billion back in 2018 – it has definitely grown bigger now.

Why Crypto?

Digital currencies have lived up to their potential in so many ways. The core promise was to deliver fast, reliable and cheap payments to consumers and operators. They have managed to achieve this and more. Moreover, considering the legal standing of gambling activities across the globe, it is easy to see why the gaming operators would opt for digital currencies – in Asia, crypto offers the best alternative to the available restrictive banking options.

“Card issuers have made it so difficult for people to gamble (deposit and withdraw) even when the transactions are legal. As such, it is not surprising that people are looking for alternative currencies and payment methods. Cryptocurrency is an excellent facilitator for online gambling, which is a huge industry even without it,” a crypto lottery company executive explains.

Is Crypto Solely Responsible for Illegal Gambling?

Well, even though the crypto and blockchain technology has grown immensely over the past couple of years or so, fiat currency still rules. On that note, a lot of illegal gambling activities are still carried out using traditional currencies from Asian currencies.

It would seem like the reason why crypto is being cited as a major contributor is the fact that it remains unregulated and out of the control of traditional financial institutions. It is therefore much easier to point fingers at crypto than to highlight the shortcomings of the other players in the financial sector.

In fact, crypto is slowly beginning to shed off some of the baggage that was associated with it. It will definitely take some time before we can safely assume that everything has been cleared up but the progress that is being made is certainly very significant. Perhaps soon it will be much easier to identify, prevent and reports illegal gambling activities that are utilizing digital currencies. It may also be important for Asian countries to review their gambling laws in order to give their citizens good options when it comes to gambling platforms. This will keep them from turning to illegal and unregulated platforms.

Bitcoin Three Months from Having Its Supply Halved

Posted on February 2, 2020February 1, 2020 by Laura P.

In a little less than 100 days, Bitcoin’s long-awaited halving will finally happen, making the digital twice as scarce as it is now. The halving which is considered to be one of the most anticipated events in the world of crypto is expected to happen on May 12. In addition to being a lot scarcer, the digital currency is set to be even more valuable. Mining it will be much more expensive once that happens simply because the rewards have now been cut in half.

What This Means for The Future

The topic of the upcoming halving has been subject to a lot of debate over the past several months. One of the most debated issues is whether the expected price increase will occur before or after the halving. None of the speculations made in this regard are verifiable and this majorly because despite the complexity of the data presented, they are dependent on simplistic comparisons from previous events in the bitcoin space.

Even so, we do not intend to invalidate the significance of the occurrences related to past halvings and how they may give us some insight into the possibilities. It will be an interesting year for bitcoin enthusiasts. That is for sure.

Another thing that is also assured is some serious volatility. The halving is quite important but we have to agree that what comes after is probably what needs more focus. We will just have to wait and see if the digital currency can pick up a fresh round of momentum in the course of the year.

Ambitious Long-Term Projections

According to renowned Wealth Manager Andy Edstrom, the Bitcoin economy is going to reach $8 Trillion in market value within the next decade. Speaking during a recent interview on the Citizen Bitcoin podcast, the wealth manager references a multi-faceted approach that took a number of factors into accounts. These factors included the devaluation of traditional or fiat currencies, speculations, and geopolitics, all of which have affected the global financial systems in one way or the other.

“…I think the total valuation on 10 years that I use is about $8 trillion and that comes from various buckets, whether it’s taking share from gold, or taking share from fiat, or taking share from offshore assets, or slightly demonetizing other stores of value like real estate or new uses that we haven’t thought of or are still under construction,” he said.

As it stands, Bitcoin’s market value sits at about $170 billion – this is rather small especially when compared to other stores of value such as gold and real estate. However, the uptrend of the cryptocurrency has given a number of pro-crypto analysts some optimism about the future of the sector. Bitcoin’s value is expected to skyrocket after the halving and this is perhaps the first step towards its $8 trillion valuation.

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Author: Laura P.