Trading in crypto is just like trading in shares, right? Wrong! While the crypto bros may have you convinced otherwise, there are so many different things you can do with crypto, it can be tricky to wrap your head around. It’s not just funny money over here, it’s a whole different and thriving digital underground – driven by digital tokens.
Spending funds online
Crypto was meant to be an international alternative to fiat currency – and it still can be used like that too! Although it’s not really on most people’s radars as a way to buy things online – like it used to be – it can still be used to pay for plenty of goods and services.
There are all sorts of things you can use your crypto assets for. Investment is just a bonus. And, speaking of bonuses, did you know you can also use this currency at online casinos? So many providers are not only accepting crypto as a method of payment, some even use it exclusively. We did some looking around and fished out King Billy Casino – an operator that ranks pretty high and is an all-rounder not only for the fact that it accepts crypto – although it’s definitely a perk. Players can claim so many bonuses, it’s not only fun to play at but offers the opportunities to increase your bankroll.
If you’re looking for a list of places to spend crypto, then check out the merchants on Bitpay – a payments provider used by the likes of Microsoft, AMC Theatres, Express VPN, Lush UK, and Twitch.
Voicing their opinion
Many cryptocurrencies have generated their value by people purchasing their coins, often via ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings) and other coin drops. This is despite the fact that coins can also be mined, subsequently. In some cases, the ownership of these coins may denote a vote, e.g. one purchased coin is equal to one vote, and a mined coin may or may not equal a vote. These votes could be used to determine new rules in the blockchain, what projects to align with, hiring decisions, and so on and so forth. These coins are known as governance tokens.
This is a reflection of another business structure in the physical world. Some business arrangements involve stockholder voting rights, where there is one vote per share. The founders of a business typically always retain 50% +1 shares so that they have a majority say in the company, although this isn’t always the case.
Playing a game
Blockchain gaming offers new takes on an old concept: video gaming. Under the new world order, there’s far more to it than just buying a game and enjoying it. In blockchain gaming, participants have a chance to earn money under the P2E model (that’s Play to Earn) or get rewarded by building thriving communities.
GameFi operates by having NFTs as game assets, which may be earned or generated, alongside in-game crypto or cryptos for use in the game. There is a big old rabbit hole to go down if you want to have a poke around how crypto gaming works, so if you are interested then start here at the Binance page on GameFi.
Use of a blockchain
Much like you put some coins into a parking meter to use a car spot, you need to put some coins into your blockchain of choice if you want to run an app (or a dApp) on it, too. While there are plenty of blockchains available to build your infrastructure on, each one operates on a different coin or token, that you will need to spend to do any operations on the chain. For example, Ethereum’s token to use the Ethereum blockchain itself for operations is GAS and not ETH, although ETH is the official coin of Ethereum and the crypto that most pure investors hold.
If a given blockchain is too popular, then the price of the usage token skyrockets, as the network attempts to self-correct to ensure that throughput targets are met. While, originally, crypto transaction fees were supposed to be tiny and the transactions near instant, this isn’t always the case due to blockchain inefficiencies. Thankfully, there are plenty of clever blockchain engineers trying to solve these problems.
Surely this is just hype?
Crypto is nearing 15 years old, which is only a smidge younger than the iPhone. There are now full financial products built around crypto, we have had billions of dollars poured into the industry, and it still doesn’t seem to be going away. If you look at it from the perspective of a new financial and technology system that we’re not quite sure what to do with just yet, then you’re half the way to understanding more than 90% of people.
