Make your gaming experience fun with cryptocurrency

It’s undeniable that cryptocurrency has become the sought-after trending asset in today’s digital market. In the previous years, cryptocurrency also had its slow start. Back in 2008 and 2009, a lot of people were still not sure of the quality that cryptocurrency holds. As years went by, people saw the potential of cryptocurrencies such as anonymity, seamless transactions and decentralization.

Today, a lot of investors have penetrated the market of cryptocurrency. Aside from the surge of prices in the coming months or years, they can make use of cryptocurrency as the mode of payment for hassle-free and cheap transactions.

If you’re new to cryptocurrency, discover what it’s about and how you can utilise it when you learn more about the basics and types of cryptocurrency right here at Bitcasino!

What is cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency aims for faster transactions between two parties at much cheaper fees compared to banks.

In essence, cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that enables the purchase of goods and services. It is secured by a technology called cryptography that makes user information tamper-free and eliminates the possibility of double-spending.

Typically, cryptocurrencies are digital assets that run on decentralised networks to conduct validating of transactions without the help of a central authority. This means that investors and crypto users can transact directly with one another.

Additionally, cryptocurrencies are not like regular currencies. You’ll need to purchase them using fiat currency on exchanges as they don’t have a physical form.

There are tons of digital assets, but the first and most popular one is Bitcoin. After Bitcoin was established, it paved the way for other digital assets such as Ethereum, Litecoin, Cardano and more. Each of these cryptocurrencies has its own features and advantages that make them unique.

Basics of cryptocurrency

To have a further understanding of cryptocurrency, here are some of the basic information to get you started:

Blockchain

Cryptocurrency transactions are recorded in a decentralized ledger called blockchain, which consists of a series of blocks where users’ transactions are recorded. Each block is filled with data and once it’s full, a new one will be filled up with data. These blocks will be chained to one another, allowing them to be in chronological order.

Apart from being decentralized, a blockchain is also immutable which means that once a transaction is recorded, it could never be altered or controlled by any central authority.

Initial Coin Offering (ICO)

An Initial Coin Offering or simply known as ICO is a way for a company to raise money to create a new coin. It is especially popular among startups that aim to provide products and services for crypto users. During an ICO, interested investors can participate in the offering by investing and receiving the cryptocurrency in return.

If a company wants to raise funds through ICO, they usually provide a whitepaper where the information about the project is indicated such as the target completion of the project, the total amount of money needed, what the token is about and other important details.

Not all companies achieve their plans. If the required amount of money hasn’t been met by the company, the ICO is therefore unsuccessful and the money will be returned to the investors.

Mining

Mining is a process in which new units of cryptocurrency are made available to the public. It involves solving complex cryptographic equations by verifying data blocks and adding them to the blockchain. As a result, miners are rewarded with cryptocurrency.

Mining is costly because it uses high-powered computers to crack complex hashing puzzles that can’t be solved by hand. However, the first miner to complete blocks of verified transactions. With mining, the security of the blockchain and network are maintained.

A group of miners can work together to mine cryptocurrency collectively. This procedure is called mining pools, which became a solution for addressing mining difficulty.

Proof of Work (PoW)

Proof of Work or PoW is a decentralized consensus mechanism used to validate transactions and mine new tokens. Also known as mining, it requires the members of a network to solve complex mathematical problems to add blocks of transactions to the blockchain. This is the first consensus algorithm used in a blockchain.

Proof of Work requires a huge amount of energy to validate transactions that increase as more miners join the network.

Proof of Stake (PoS)

The Proof of Stake or PoS allows crypto users and miners to validate transactions in a block based on the number of coins they staked on the blockchain. It’s a consensus mechanism that ensures only legitimate transactions are recorded in the blockchain.

In the PoS, a transaction is recorded in a block that has a maximum capacity of 1 megabyte. Validators or miners will validate those transactions and update the blockchain based on the amount of coins they staked. When the latest block of transactions has been validated, other miners in the network can attest that the block is accurate.

Top 3 cryptocurrencies

There are tons of available cryptocurrencies you can choose from. Each cryptocurrency has its unique features that benefit the users. But with the number of cryptocurrencies, certain ones perform significantly better. To give you an idea, check out the top 3 cryptocurrencies in the market today:

Bitcoin

Bitcoin (BTC) is the first digital asset to be launched in the market. Launched in 2009, Bitcoin is released by an anonymous person Satoshi Nakamoto. It’s a peer-to-peer payment system that enables swift and cost-effective transactions.

Moreover, Bitcoin utilises peer-to-peer technology to facilitate instant payments without intervention from any central authority or middlemen. It has a fast transaction time, allowing users to send any amount of money in under a few minutes. There’s also a sense of transparency when using Bitcoin since users can transact without providing confidential financial information.

Due to its popularity, a lot of businesses and establishments support Bitcoin as a mode of payment for their goods and services whether in physical stores or online such as Whole Foods, Etsy, Home Depot, Rakuten and more. While it’s not a legal tender in most countries, Bitcoin triggered the emergence of hundreds of other cryptocurrencies today.

Ethereum

Ethereum is a decentralized blockchain powered by its native currency, Ether (ETH). One of the most notable features of Ethereum is that users are allowed to develop decentralized applications on the platform called ‘dApps’. Currently, Ethereum is second in market capitalization after Bitcoin.

Ethereum was founded in 2015 by Russian-Canadian programmer Vitalik Buterin, but the conceptualization of the cryptocurrency started in 2013. A lot of cryptocurrencies that were created after ETH operate as ERC-20 tokens on top of the Ethereum blockchain.

In December 2020, the developers of Ethereum shifted from a proof-of-work (PoW) system to a proof-of-stake (PoS) system to make the network faster and more secure.

Cardano

Cardano is a decentralized proof-of-stake blockchain platform founded in 2015 by Charles Hoskinson who was a co-founder of Ethereum. Cardano aims to become a decentralized application development platform that intends to solve existing problems in other cryptocurrencies such as slow processing inflexibility and lack of scalability.

Cardano’s native token is called ADA, which was inspired by 19th-century mathematician and computer programmer, Ada Lovelace.

One of Cardano’s impressive features is that it can process more than 200 transactions per second, making it faster than other cryptocurrencies. Cardano’s ADA makes use of two layers—the settlement layer and the computational layer. The first one keeps track of transactions while the second one enables applications to run on Cardano.

How to buy cryptocurrency

If you want to invest in cryptocurrency, you’ll need a platform that offers the token you want to purchase. This is where crypto exchanges come in. For you to buy the cryptocurrency you want, look for an exchange platform that will suit your needs.

Crypto exchange

A crypto digital marketplace is where users can buy and sell digital assets. For payments, some accept fiat while others only accept cryptocurrencies.

Buying cryptocurrencies is much like purchasing a product since their price on the exchange platforms is based on their current market prices.

There are various crypto exchanges available online. Among them, the platforms below are currently the most popular and trusted ones:

Binance

Binance is currently the biggest exchange platform in terms of daily trading volume. It was founded in 2017 by Chinese-Canadian developer Changpeng Zhao. Binance provides crypto-to-crypto trading services, supporting more than 50 cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and more.

Apart from offering numerous cryptocurrencies, Binance also has its own wallet where users can store their cryptocurrencies and a blockchain-based token called Binance Coin (BNB).

Coinbase

Coinbase is a US-based exchange platform founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam. It is currently one of the leading exchanges next to Binance. Coinbase supports a wide range of cryptocurrencies including Ether (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), Cardano (ADA), Dogecoin (DOGE), Tether (USDT) and more.

This platform offers more than just cryptocurrency trading. It also features advanced trading and wallet for users’ cryptocurrencies.

Huobi

Huobi is the next top crypto exchange platform that was founded in 2013 by Leon Li. Similar to Binance, Huobi also has its own utility token called Huobi Token with the ticker symbol ‘HT’. Some of the cryptocurrencies offered by Huobi are Ripple (XRP), Polkadot (DOT), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC) and others.

Once you find the exchange platform for you, you’ll need to register to create an account and start trading. The process of creating an account differs from platform to platform. Some of them might require you to use a Two-Factor Authenticator application (2FA) or have you go through the Know Your Customer (KYC) protocol.

Where to store cryptocurrencies

After purchasing the cryptocurrency of your choice, you’ll need a place to keep it safe and protected from theft and hacking. For this, you’ll need a reliable cryptocurrency wallet that will ensure the security of your crypto.

A crypto wallet is a digital wallet that allows you to store your cryptocurrencies. With this, you can easily manage your cryptocurrencies. The process of setting up a crypto wallet is easy. Often, you’ll only need to provide an email address and password.

After creating your account, you will be given a Wallet ID, which is an identification similar to a bank account number. Then, you can access your wallet through the website or mobile application.

Like crypto exchanges, there are also different choices for crypto wallets. All of them can cater to any type of cryptocurrency, but their accessibility can be your basis in choosing one. Here are the types of crypto wallets:

Software wallets – This type of wallet is connected to the internet and you’ll need a WiFi connection if you want to access it. Since it’s downloadable to your desktop, this wallet provides you with fast and hassle-free accessibility. Some of the most well-known software wallets you can consider are Exodus and Coinomi.
Hardware wallets – This one comes in the form of a small USB flash drive plug-in device that allows you to access your wallet anywhere you are. Some of the most popular hardware wallets you can choose from are Ledger Nano S and Trezor.

Cryptocurrency gaming

Apart from purchasing goods, you can also use cryptocurrency if you want to play games on online sites like Bitcasino! By using your cryptocurrencies, you can access hundreds of games from various categories such as slots, live dealer and table games. As cryptocurrency slowly becomes mainstream, a lot of people opt to use it not only for products and services but also for playing in online casinos.

Find out some of the perks of using cryptocurrency when playing casino games:

Offers security

One of the many advantages of using cryptocurrency when playing in Bitcasino is that it provides security to players. Since a lot of people don’t like the idea of providing their bank account and credit card numbers, players can connect their crypto wallets to fund their accounts in Bitcasino.

Fast transactions

Another good thing about using cryptocurrency when playing in Bitcasino is it offers fast transactions. When you transfer crypto funds, you can complete your transactions in just a few minutes.

When you use credit cards to transfer money, there will be a service charge for every transfer. Whereas with cryptocurrency, you will be charged with cheap fees.