What Is Poker Crypto And How Is It Changing The Game?

Many technology trends came to the fore during the pandemic, and two of the most prominent were online casinos and cryptocurrency. These two were eventually combined, leading to the rise of crypto gaming. This is the use of blockchain technology to allow players to own the virtual items they win or buy, trade them, or even sell them. This also makes them transferable across different crypto gaming platforms — something that couldn’t be done with traditional gaming.

Under this is another more specific type of crypto gaming, which is poker crypto. This concept of blockchain-based poker uses cryptocurrency instead of poker chips. And instead of using binders to keep records of every players’ chips at the end of every round, a shared ledger on the blockchain keeps the records. Because of the nature of blockchain, this makes it impossible to lie or cheat since every poker chip will be easily traceable from the first round.

Aside from that, there are other ways poker crypto is changing poker. Below are a few more:

Play-to-Earn gaming models

In play-to-earn gaming models, players can receive rewards with real-world value. With poker crypto, players collect crypto as they keep winning, and this model will entice more players to join real-money tables. This will affect how crypto players calculate poker pots, because if they win enough hands they will be allowed to be paid out a percentage of their winnings. The play-to-earn model in poker crypto means a player can accumulate prizes from different poker crypto platforms, rather than just one. This has the potential to earn players a lot more money.

Financial Anonymity

Online gamers tend to not want their gaming activities and transactions to reflect in their bank statements. After all, details like payment method, amount, and location can be seen by banks, and sometimes even shared with other institutions. Transactions using crypto may be recorded on the blockchain for everyone to see, but it’s written as a string of alphanumerics. In addition to this, each transaction has a unique ID that doesn’t compromise the identity of the people involved. This means any activity involving poker crypto doesn’t require personal and banking details. Players can give themselves an additional layer of anonymity by using private cryptocurrencies like Monero. This particular one uses ring signatures and stealth addresses.

Faster and Cheaper Transactions

Poker sites need approval from authorities like banks before transactions are processed. This is why it can take a few days to deposit money to an online poker account, and up to a week to withdraw winnings. These poker platforms may even hold deposits and withdrawals for certain reasons. Aside from this, some gaming operators may even charge fees for depositing money. But poker crypto is decentralized, so it doesn’t pass through authorities and other third-party players. This means transactions can be processed in minutes with no (or very minimal) fees. Because of blockchain technology, transactions are also more secure.

Just like online poker did in the early 2000s, crypto is advancing the game to broaden its appeal by making it safer and more accessible.