Cryptocurrency gambling is one of the most exciting things that holders of virtual currencies can do if they enjoy using digital assets. Nowadays, it is possible for people to use different virtual currencies to gamble at some of the most popular casino platforms online.
Two of the most used virtual currencies in the market are Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). These digital currencies can be found in every single crypto-friendly casino. Sportsbooks are also supporting both BTC and ETH.
But there certainly are some differences between these two cryptocurrencies. These differences include transaction times, fees paid by users, and the community. In this post, we will compare Bitcoin vs Ethereum and analyze their pros and cons to gambling on online platforms.
🔀 Main Bitcoin and Ethereum differences
As mentioned in the introduction, there are some differences between Bitcoin and Ethereum. In some cases, users could prefer to use one of these two virtual currencies rather than the other. But let’s get into the details of these virtual currencies.
Availability on gambling platforms
Both Bitcoin and Ethereum are cryptocurrencies that are supported by most gambling platforms in the world. The main reason behind being accepted by most online casinos is related to the fact that these are the two largest cryptocurrencies in the world.
Bitcoin has a market capitalization of $380 billion at the time of writing and Ethereum has a $138 billion valuation. Therefore, gambling platforms have to make sure that they support these two digital assets and that they do not focus on digital assets that could have a smaller market valuation.
If Bitcoin is available, then Ethereum would definitely be supported on this platform as well. Therefore, if you find an online casino platform that supports Bitcoin, it is highly possible that it will support Ethereum as well.
How easy is it to buy Bitcoin and Ethereum?
Bitcoin and Ethereum are available in most cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets in the market. This is a very positive thing as you will not have to be worried to find a specific exchange that would give you access to both of these virtual currencies.
If you want to start playing at an online gambling site using Bitcoin or Ethereum then you will not have issues buying these digital currencies online, as they are widely available on a large number of online trading platforms.
The difference between using or handling Bitcoin and Ethereum would be related to transaction fees and times. When it comes to availability at online exchanges, both digital currencies are supported by every single major exchange.
Where to keep your coins?
If you are a cryptocurrency investor, then you should know that there are some things to take into consideration about holding and protecting virtual currencies. Both Ethereum and Bitcoin can be stored in different wallets that give you the possibility to hold your private keys.
As a long-term investor in Bitcoin and Ethereum, you should make sure that you use a wallet that is secure and that gives you control over your funds. Instead, if you are a cryptocurrency user that buys and sells virtual currencies all the time, then you can use an exchange and withdraw your funds to your wallet or directly to an online casino.
Everything will depend on the type of user of both Bitcoin and Ethereum that you are and the requirements of your online gambling platform. One of the best things that you can do is to purchase one of these digital currencies using a wallet and storing your funds there rather than using an online cryptocurrency exchange.
Security
In terms of security, we should mention that Bitcoin is the most secure blockchain network in the world. Thanks to its Proof-of-Work (PoW) Bitcoin became the most secure blockchain right now, powered by thousands of miners located all over the world. Even if a country were to perform an attack on Bitcoin, it would not be possible for them to do it and it would be a very expensive attack.
While Ethereum has also been among the most secure cryptocurrencies in the market, it works with a PoW consensus algorithm that is not as robust as the one that Bitcoin presents. Additionally, in order to become more efficient in the coming years, Ethereum is now transitioning towards a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm.
Despite the fact that Ethereum could become faster and more reliable, its security and decentralization could be threatened. It is worth pointing out that Ethereum supporters will claim that the network will be more secure than Bitcoin.
Anonymity
Cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin and Ethereum, work with public ledgers. That means that all the transactions processed are registered on the blockchain and publicly available. Hence, it is possible to know all the transactions that take place on the network. Users can know the wallet from where the funds were sent, the funds held by this wallet, and the ETH or BTC of the recipient.
Therefore, these two virtual currencies tend to be not so anonymous compared to other options such as Monero (XMR). It is very important to search for a virtual currency that would let you get access to the services you want (gamble at online sites) and remain as private as possible.
Bitcoin and Ethereum are not necessarily the most private and anonymous cryptocurrencies in the market. Especially if you have shared private information (KYC) data when you bought BTC or ETH.
Depositing process
The depositing process for Bitcoin and Ethereum at online gambling sites is quite similar. That means that the online casino will share with you a wallet address that you will use to send BTC or ETH to it. In this way, it will be very easy for you to fund your account.
But there are some things that you should take into consideration. For example, you cannot send BTC to an Ethereum wallet address or ETH to a Bitcoin wallet address. Doing so will simply make your funds get lost forever (cryptocurrencies do not have a customer support line).
It is very important to understand how the depositing process works and how you can use BTC or ETH depending on your requirements and what the online casino requests.
Transaction fees
Transaction fees are different on the Bitcoin network compared to Ethereum. This aspect is one of the most important things when it comes to using one or another virtual currency, as you don’t want to pay very high fees to send or withdraw funds from an online casino platform.
When Ethereum was launched to the market, its transaction fees were lower than on the Bitcoin network. This was due to the fact that the transactions processed on top of Ethereum were much less than on top of Bitcoin. Considering that both blockchains work with blocks that have limited space, the Bitcoin network was more demanded than Ethereum’s blockchain.
This resulted in people using ETH to play at online casinos as it was cheaper to send transactions. But things have changed in recent years. With the expansion of the decentralized finance (DeFi) market and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the Ethereum network became extremely congested.
Due to this reason, nowadays, Ethereum transactions are more expensive than transactions on the Bitcoin network. Hence, you will find it easier and more convenient to use Bitcoin to deposit funds at online crypto-friendly casinos, as transaction fees will be lower.
According to data shared by BitInfoCharts, Ethereum transactions have been above $10 on average for several years now. Instead, Bitcoin transactions have been on average below $2. Therefore, using Bitcoin is more convenient if you are trying to deposit funds at an online casino.
Speed of transactions
It is also worth talking about the speed of transactions and how fast they are on both networks. The same thing has happened here. While Ethereum was a faster and more reliable option in the past, Bitcoin transactions are now faster than on the Ethereum blockchain.
This is because the Bitcoin blockchain is less congested than Ethereum, and thus, sending a crypto transaction to a gambling site will be faster on Bitcoin than on Ethereum. Things will be different if you, instead, use XRP or Litecoin, networks that process transactions even faster and cheaper than on Bitcoin.
The speed of the transactions is an important thing to consider when choosing one or another virtual currency to use at gambling sites. People that want to have fun do not want to wait for the transaction to be processed. The fastest the process, the better for the user it will be.
👍 Bitcoin gambling advantages
These are some of the advantages of using Bitcoin for gambling:
- Bitcoin is one of the most secure blockchain networks in the market
- BTC is the largest cryptocurrency in the world
- You can buy Bitcoin in all major exchanges around the world
- Every single crypto-friendly online casino supports Bitcoin deposits
- Transaction fees are standard (and cheaper than on Ethereum)
- Transaction speeds are acceptable (and faster than on the Ethereum blockchain)
- Most games will let you use BTC to gamble
- There are unique promotions at online casinos for BTC players
- It might be the easiest cryptocurrency to use
👎 Bitcoin gambling disadvantages
- It might not be as reliable (fast and cheap) as other blockchain networks such as Litecoin or Ripple
- During network peaks, transactions can also be very expensive for gambling users
- There are more exciting projects with unique advantages compared to Bitcoin
👍 Ethereum gambling advantages
- Ethereum is among the largest cryptocurrencies in the world
- There is a large community of ETH supporters
- If there is no network congestion, it can be faster and cheaper to use than Bitcoin
- Ethereum can be purchased in most exchanges and you can withdraw it to your favorite gambling platform
- Most online crypto-friendly casinos support ETH
- Software providers have adapted the games for players to use Ethereum
👎 Ethereum gambling disadvantages
- During network peak times it is quite expensive to use (not convenient for gambling)
- Transaction times can reach several hours if the network is congested
- There are cheaper and faster cryptocurrencies
✔️ Which coin to choose for gambling?
Now it is time to evaluate every single aspect of these two digital currencies and answer the question: which coin to choose for gambling, Ethereum or Bitcoin?
The answer is not straightforward. It depends on many things such as what you are searching for as an experience, which coin you are used to handling, and the costs of using one or the other.
If the Ethereum network is congested and you want to minimize costs, then you should use Bitcoin. But if the Bitcoin network is congested as much as Ethereum, then, the best thing is to use another digital currency that tends to have fast and cheap transactions at all times.
Most games will support both Bitcoin and Ethereum, meaning that it would almost be the same to deposit ETH or BTC, unless there is a specific promotion for users that deposit one of these two cryptocurrencies.
Therefore, when you analyze which coin to use if you want to play at online gambling sites, you should consider all the above-mentioned things in this post. The goal is to have fun and also a seamless experience from the moment in which you buy the digital currency until you withdraw the coins from the gambling platform. That being said, both digital assets are great in terms of reliability and support.