The original idea behind creating cryptocurrencies was to offer a much more decentralized and convenient payment platform than the existing financial mediums, be it cash, e-wallets, etc. And after Bitcoin’s famous campaign, new cryptocurrencies – also known as altcoins – have joined their big brother in the same quest.
However, as time passed and the blockchain technology sunk in our minds, we started to come up with new ways of using this decentralized platform. Among those alternative uses are production chain “blockchainization”, digitalization of the politics, and, of course, incorporation of cryptocurrencies in gambling.
In fact, according to recent records, one of the most popular and well-established cryptocurrencies, Tron (TRX), and its decentralized apps (DApps) have been predominantly used for gambling.
Why are cryptos beneficial for gambling?
Many online, as well as offline casinos all around the world, use cryptocurrencies for their apparent advantages. One of the most apparent upsides of crypto-gambling is increased anonymity offered by the platform.
Here’s the deal: when people engage in gambling, they’re usually looked at as if they have an obsession towards gambling which, in turn, makes them financially unstable. And if there’s one thing that banks and other major financial players hate is unreliable clients because if they give out credit to such clients, there are pretty high chances that they won’t get their money back.
To limit such occurrences, they blacklist their customers who have a predisposition towards gambling. Banks, in general, have the ability to track their clients’ expenses because they are partnering with governments. And governments have a monopoly over the fiat money issuance.
On a blockchain, however, there are no centralized institutions that have exclusive access and monitoring capabilities of cryptocurrencies. Transactions are completely anonymous, encrypted by a cryptographic method and their details hidden from outsiders’ reach. The anonymity of payments, therefore, is the major reason why gamblers use cryptocurrencies instead of regular money.
Then, there are other benefits like instant transactions and milder deposit/withdrawal limitations. All in all, cryptocurrencies are major superstars in the gambling world.
Dedicated to gambling
And, as mentioned above, the Tron cryptocurrency is a major player in this industry. According to the DappRadar’s list of most popular Tron Dapps, only 7 out of 25 most popular apps are used by industries other than gambling. The rest of them, 18 to be precise, are heavily embedded in this industry.
As always, both online and offline gambling operators are pretty quick when it comes to jumping on emerging innovative possibilities. And these Tron DApps are definitely considered as such. Even in Norway, for instance, where gambling is predominantly banned and only functions through the two government-driven agencies, the majority of casinos reviewed here are still functioning, while offering crypto solutions to their clients.
The above-mentioned DappRadar list consists of the most popular Tron applications, including 888Tron (gambling), RocketGame (gambling), CatPromotion (games), and many more. And just seven of those DApps represent non-gambling industries – namely games, exchanges, and “high-risk.”
Not only that, even those seven DApps don’t come close to their gambling counterparts when it comes to the hosted volume, whereas the gambling DApps are considerably more popular and generate higher traffic.
Tron’s DApps and their application in gambling become even more significant when put against other cryptocurrency DApps. For instance, the same list for the Ethereum blockchain only has three out of twenty-five DApps dedicated to gambling.
Quickly rising in popularity
In general, the Tron blockchain is considered one of the most rapidly growing platforms among DApp users. The cryptocurrency was created just two years ago, in September 2017, aiming at decentralizing the entertainment and media industry and eliminating the middlemen in it.
And in a very short time, it became one of the most popular and widely-used cryptocurrencies of the industry. In April 2019, the TRX DApp, alongside Ethereum and EOS decentralized apps, stole the show with a ridiculous 98.65% transaction volume of the year. This is a significant achievement considering that the cryptocurrency ecosystem combines thousands of other cryptocurrencies.
And just Tron blockchain was able to yield a $4.4 billion exchange volume in 2019, where the overwhelming majority, around 89%, came to its DApps. For that reason, Tron’s decentralized applications are often called the “Las Vegas on the blockchain”, and rightly so.
What’s next for Tron?
The future of Tron crypto is looking even brighter with its future project phases called Great Voyage and Apollo, which are planned to kick in from mid-2020 and mid-2021. These projects are aimed at creating a more liberal content creation sphere where people can kick start their own brands and use various blockchain features like ICOs (initial coin offerings) and more.
The platform even has more long-term plans such as Star Trek and Eternity phases, which will bring whole new capabilities to gamers and game creators. Yet even now, the cryptocurrency is stealing the show with its overwhelming market share and embeddedness in gambling.
Photo by James Walsh on Unsplash
