Crypto has changed the world. You may not be directly involved with the industry regarding investments or trading, but you can’t deny the statement. From 2 pizzas for 10,000 Bitcoin to 1 Bitcoin reaching $69,000 is no joke.
Over the years, many industries have adopted crypto’s benefits, primarily for online payments. After all, the original crypto whitepaper by Satoshi Nakamoto envisioned a borderless decentralized payment system. Developers have since been developing the concept.
Among the industries that adopted crypto, online gambling is one of the pioneers. You can find plenty of online casinos and betting sites that accept crypto for deposits and withdrawals. Betting expert Tim Harrison has brought a list of all crypto betting sites in the USA.
In this Torrents Proxy feature, Tim will educate us on how to use crypto for online betting, the benefits, and how to stay safe while using decentralized payment methods.
Torrents Proxy Asks: What Is Crypto?
Although Tim is not a crypto expert, he knows the basics of betting with it. He understands that crypto, short for cryptocurrencies, is a decentralized and cross-border online payment method that eliminates the middleman.
In crypto, the network is not controlled by one person or company. Rather, many network participants come together in a consensus protocol that validates transactions. Usually, the middleman is a bank, an E-wallet, or a prepaid card provider.
The result is a cost-effective, instant, and hassle-free payment method.
Is Crypto Legal in the USA?
The US is the birthplace and the main hub of the current crypto industry. The government has initially acknowledged it as an asset, like real estate. But recently, congress has been gearing up to impose regulations and taxation on the industry’s volume. As for legality, crypto is still unregulated.
It resulted from multiple black swan events during 2021 and 2022.
Some notable events include:
- the Terra Luan crash,
- the FTX crash,
- the Silvergate Bank collapse,
- and the Silicon Valley Bank collapsed.
Then again, crypto is not restricted to shopping or investments. As long as the sports betting site you choose in the US is licensed in the state, you’re good to go.
How to Use Crypto in an Online Betting Site?
The biggest question for anyone not involved with the industry is how do you get involved? How do you get crypto in the first place to use it for deposits? The answer is simpler than you’d imagine.
➤ Get Yourself a Crypto Wallet
Just like you can use your bank account or an E-wallet to store fiat money, you’ll need a crypto wallet to keep digital assets. Unlike banks or E-wallets, your crypto wallet is a non-custodial storage. It means only you are in control of what happens to the funds. It adds exceptional power and confidence for interested parties such as yourself.
It would help if you chose the wallet based on what crypto coin you want to use. All popular wallets now support a plethora of token standards. Take Metamask or Trust Wallet, for example. They accept BTC, ETH, MATIC, XRP, and SOL.
After signing up for the wallet, store your seed phrase (private key) safely. No matter what happens to your wallet, you can retrieve it using the seed phrase. But if the seed phrase is a lot, even the wallet developers won’t be able to recover your funds.
➤ Buy Crypto from an Exchange
There are plenty of exchanges where you purchase digital assets for fiat currency. Kraken, Binance US, and eToro are our top 3 choices. The next step is to buy crypto to store in the wallet. Just connect your credit card to the exchange account and buy. Then, transfer the crypto from your exchange wallet to your private wallet.
A good rule is never to keep your assets in an exchange wallet. It’s simply because these are custodial wallets, meaning the funds are controlled by the exchange instead of you having 100% control over it.
➤ Choose a Licensed Betting Site
To bet legally on sports in the US, you must choose the right bookmaker. In this case, “right” means having a license in the state where you’re physically present. Gambling licenses in the US are regulated on a state level. So, a license in one state is not valid in another.
If you live in a state where online sports betting is not legalized, you won’t be able to bet for now. A good workaround for this problem is visiting a nearby state where it is legal to wager online.
➤ Deposit Crypto to Your Betting Account
When you try to deposit for the first time, the bookmaker will provide you with a wallet address. You need to use your address to send funds to that address. It’s a P2P transfer, meaning there are no 3rd parties involved to monitor or disrupt the transaction.
Benefits of Crypto Betting Sites
Finally, we asked Tim Harrison why Torrents Proxy Readers should use crypto over fiat currency to bet in the US. He provided us with the points below:
- instant
- fewer fees
- cross-border
- safe
| Instant | All crypto transfers are instant. Well, it’s not like the payment will go through within a second thought. There is a delay in the transaction getting validated on the blockchain. It takes longer for Proof-of-Work chains like Bitcoin and Ethereum. |
| Fewer Fees | Every crypto transaction has fees. But cumulatively, you’ll pay more periodic fees when compared to a traditional banking system. |
| Cross-Border | The biggest benefit of using crypto is no virtual boundaries. You can keep using the same wallet and assets no matter where you are. |
| Secure | All transactions are encrypted with cryptography. It eliminates the possibility of double spending and fraudulent transactions. Moreover, many nodes must validate the transactions before it’s added to the distributed ledger. |