Despite the growing rate of adoption, cryptocurrencies haven’t enjoyed the widespread acceptance by the mainstream that was touted by many a few years ago. As Bitcoin’s value skyrocketed from around $900 to almost $20,000 in 2017, newspapers, the internet and TV were all filled with commentators speculating about its future, and the future of cryptocurrencies and blockchain in general.

Some outlets predicted spectacularly high values reaching as high as $100,000 per Bitcoin, while others focused on the fact that we would all soon be replacing our fiat currencies with digital tokens.

However, most of these predictions turned out to be accurate. In fact, early 2018 saw Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies tank in value, dropping by around a half in just a month, and falling from nearly $20,000 to just over $3,000 by the end of the year.

Early adopters, particularly those in the technology sector, even began receiving their salaries in Bitcoin. Even today, news reports continue to emerge where companies announce they’re beginning to offer to pay staff in Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin. One of these was CoinCorner, a crypto exchange firm based in the Isle of Man, which started paying all of its staff in digital tokens in August 2019.

But the reason that this makes the news is that it still isn’t the norm, and the rate of adoption is much slower than many of these pundits predicted.

Cryptocurrency Acceptance

Many consumers are unsure about digital currencies and prefer to stick to what they know and have used for their entire lives. This position is strengthened by the fact that numerous exchange failures and thefts have seen people losing thousands of dollars of Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies.

The volatility can also put some people off as their risk-averse attitude to investing makes it difficult to justify speculating on the price.

With that said, we’re seeing a similar meteoric rise in the value of Bitcoin in late 2023 as investors look for ways to protect their assets from low interest rates and declines in the value of some stocks.

At the same time, there is a growing number of businesses that are looking to accept cryptocurrencies. This includes small independent businesses and big brands, including Starbucks, Microsoft, and Whole Foods.

Although you can now walk into some branches of Starbucks and buy a flat white with Bitcoin, you still can’t do it at many other franchises. You also can’t spend cryptocurrencies in the vast majority of retail stores. Moreover, some popular sites that used to accept crypto have even begun to reverse that decision.

For example, the travel site Expedia used to allow bookings to be made through its site using Bitcoin. However, this feature was quietly removed a few years ago.

Part of the reluctance among businesses to begin accepting digital currencies is simply because there isn’t enough demand for them. And consumers that would like to pay with their Ethereum will still hand over cash of a credit card if there are no other options.

Cryptocurrencies in iGaming

The iGaming industry, which consists of online casinos, sports betting, poker, bingo and lotteries has also been slow to adopt cryptocurrencies. For the most part, for the same reasons as many other service providers.

Cryptocurrencies are much more volatile than fiat currencies which creates bigger risks. If a business holds a reserve of Bitcoin and its value decreases, then it stands to lose a significant amount of money. On the other hand, if Bitcoin appreciates, the business could profit.

For some people, this may sound like a reasonable bet to make, but many businesses prefer certainty. The same is true for traditional currency exchange, with many larger companies using the futures market to get certainty.

Most iGaming brands choose not to be exposed to this volatility, and opt to only accept fiat currencies like dollars, euros and pounds.

Additional regulation in the iGaming sector can also make it more difficult. For example, companies are required to undertake “Know Your Customer” (KYC) checks, which are designed to prevent money laundering and other nefarious activities. It can be more difficult to do this when a customer makes a deposit using a cryptocurrency as it can be difficult to trace the source of the funds.

Third Parties

There are some ways that cryptocurrency enthusiasts can still use Bitcoin and other tokens whenever a casino or online poker room accepts debit cards from Visa and Mastercard. Since the majority of sites, even those that accept payments for play chips like PokerStars accept these methods, players can use cards issued by exchanges like Coinbase and Cryptopay to charge their accounts.

Payment wallets like Neteller and Skrill also allow users to deposit cryptocurrencies into their account and then make deposits to casinos and bookmakers in a fiat currency.

Some iGaming brands have been accepting cryptocurrencies via third-party services like Coinbase. This works by converting the dollar, euro or pound amount into Bitcoin at the live exchange rate, deducting this from the customer’s account, and then transferring the fiat currency to the iGaming operator.

This means they’re not exposed to the volatility while still letting their customers pay in the way they want.

The Future

While these third party operators may offer a lower risk way for casinos and sportsbook operators to accept cryptocurrencies, there is clear evidence of the reluctance in the industry to fully embrace digital money.

There are now some casinos that accept only cryptocurrencies, but this is uncommon, and most are not licensed by a regulatory body.

Given this slow rate of adoption among consumers, the third-party solutions, and the lack of appetite for risk, it seems unlikely that the iGaming industry will be embracing cryptocurrencies any time soon.

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At the time of writing this, one Ether is around $390 or $400. Keep in mind, the price of this coin varies by a lot from day today. Sometimes it is stable, sometimes it is quite erratic. But, even though it is just a fraction of what the Bitcoin is worth, it is still quite an impressive blockchain platform. You are probably quite interested in this platform and about the price of Ethereum. That is why I decided to talk about its pricing and everything you need to know about it.

What is Ethereum?

What exactly is the public blockchain platform? Well, there is a lot of misinterpretation about this software platform. Ethereum is not exactly the cryptocurrency on the market. This is a public blockchain network/platform that has the feature of smart contract scripting. But, now I got you confused even more. What is a smart contract scripting?

Smart contract scripting is a program that can automatically and safely execute a certain contract. Basically, this program can replace the middleman of a certain transaction. For example, you want to buy a certain product, but you do not want to pay those fees that are usually enforced by middleman websites. With this smart program, you can make a transaction directly, without having to rely on a third-party company to act as a middleman.

Okay, now you understand what a smart contract program is and how Ethereum can be useful in real-world applications. But, why is this platform referred to as a part of the cryptocurrency market? Well, the entire software is supported by the coin referred to as Ether. Through buying, selling, and trading this coin, the entire platform is supported and can continue to work.

Why is it better than Bitcoin?

Now you are probably wondering why people would ever choose to buy Ether when a Bitcoin is worth ten times the price? Currently, one Bitcoin is worth around $11,500. So, currently, it is worth 30 times more than the Ether coin? The Bitcoin is quite volatile which makes an investment in this very risky. You could lose a lot of money in just one moment while Ether stays quite stable in comparison. But, it is obvious that it provides a much bigger potential for making money, so why should Ether be considered to be better?

Well, for inexperienced people, who are not very familiar with the crypto market, it will seem like the bitcoin is the obvious choice. But, the only reason why it is worth so much and it is always in rank number one is that it was the first one on the market. It is the currency that started all of this. Once the huge rise of interest for crypto came in 2017 and 2018, many Wall Street sharks started trading with this coin, making it even more popular.

So, yes, it is expensive and you could make a lot of money out of it, but Ethereum is based on a much more complex technology and coding, making it faster, more reliable, safer, and overall better. I believe that in a couple of years from today, this currency will take the number one spot on the crypto list. If you are one of those people that realize the potential of Ether, you should find a website with the best exchange rates. Great examples of good exchange rates are Binaryx, Gemini, Bittrex, Coinbase, and a couple more.

This is probably the single most asked question when it comes to cryptocurrencies. Everyone would like to invest in this, but they are too afraid because the market is so volatile. I assume that you are interested in buying Ether, but you are unsure whether the price of it will rise or fall in the following months or even years.

In reality, we cannot exactly know whether the price will get better or worse. There simply is no way to know about the future of this currency. If we did know, everyone will start buying it and its value would drop considerably.

However, with the news that is being shared around about this currency, we can form a certain opinion about its potential. And, with its rise in popularity and constantly holding that rank number two right under Bitcoin shows us that there is a bright future ahead.

We also have to consider the fact that Ethereum 2.0 is right around the corner which will probably increase the value of this coin by a whole lot. I cannot exactly know how much, but it could easily double or triple in price in the next couple of months.

When is the best time to invest?

Right about now, you have learned about the most important things you need to know about Ethereum, its price, its past, and its future. Now is the time to decide whether it is worth to invest in it and when you should do that investment.

I think I cannot give you a straight answer to this question because this kind of decision is up to you. Although, I think it is safe to say that right now is probably a good time to invest in Ethereum.

As you can see, the world of cryptocurrencies is complicated, especially if you plan on investing in it. But, after reading through this article, you should probably be ready to invest in Ether and become a part of this new booming market.

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A common question is asked by most people, which is, why are so many cryptocurrencies available? A few years back, one crypto used to prevail, which was Bitcoin. Now the market is flooded with varied options. A cryptocurrency is now virtually available in almost every sector of the industry.

The principal aim of these cryptocurrencies is to leverage the technology of blockchain. Several areas are aimed to revolutionize that are as diverse as energy, data storage, health, security, payment, social networks, etc. So many cryptocurrencies already exist, so what are the reasons possible in the current scenario. Different functionalities are contained in different currencies. The main reason behind having so many options in cryptocurrency available is blockchain technology.

Hence, opportunities are provided to different developers to produce different cryptocurrencies for varied functionality. The cryptocurrency functions as currencies as well. They are used generally as a store of value and much likely used as a traditional fiat. Bitcoin and several other types fall under this particular category.  Check alem.de and find more about bitcoins and possibilities to mine them.

No one controls blockchain technology. It works in this way that anyone who knows the working of technology, can merely use it and develop their virtual currency. Blockchain technology was used to produce Bitcoin.

Soon after, other developers realized that by exploiting the same technology, they could develop a better version than the original one. Early, the list kept growing, and all were trying to build something similar to Bitcoin or Better exclaims profit of bitcoins. Hence, it led to the creation of so many cryptocurrencies that are all present in the marketplace today.

Let us know a few of the big reasons as to why so many cryptocurrencies are introduced.

Tremendous Returns

It is one of the primary reasons as to why there are so many cryptocurrencies introduced. Bitcoin and a few other altcoins enjoyed considerable success. The response was overwhelming, and it is one of the reasons which compelled other developers to come up with innovative ideas. Initially, when Bitcoin was introduced, not many people showed interest in it, and not many paid attention.

Bitcoin has no value in the very beginning. Several people disregarded it or never bothered to find out what it was and how it is helpful. Gradually, its importance continued to appreciate over the years. More and more people started to know about bitcoins and its benefits.

Yet, after 2017, bitcoin picked significant momentum. Bitcoin, along with other altcoins, boomed tremendously. People who invested in Bitcoin, became millionaires overnight, as it rose to about $20,000 BTC. It was it’s an all-time high, and people danced with joy. Soon they came to know what was going on. You can quickly get a lot of information on cryptocurrencies online if you want to dig deep. You will also find several ways to buy different coins from various sites.

Innovations

There was a tremendous increase in Cryptocurrencies because of its innovative nature. Moreover, people also look for constant improvement in things, and we all desire enhancement. These were the primary reasons that made cryptocurrency so famous in quite less time. You can know about it in a much better way. Think of it in this way; there are several applications that Apple and Google have. Most of the apps are used to do the same thing, but companies have still produced so many of them.

Let us take an example of an app that is used to stream music. Does the play store or app store have only one app to perform the task? No, there are plenty available. Some love one, others love another, and many do not like some. Still, several apps are developed for streaming music, and they will keep coming from time to time.

This is the same thing how cryptocurrency is like. Several cryptocurrencies are available with smart contracts, and they work the same way. They are continuing to emerge more and more. The only thing that is done is a few tweaks in the elements of the protocol. There are nowadays several types of tokens available that run on the same kind of network.

ICO Boom

The ICO boom is another primary reason behind introducing so many cryptocurrencies along the line. The success achieved behind the sales of such tokens has only resulted in a spur on more number of token sales. There is a lack of checks in the ICO ecosystem. In the end, the coin offerings are listed on trading exchanges and are known as crypto tokens. With the introduction of a thousand successful ICOs, we will have cryptocurrencies that are even thousands in number.

Moreover, having thousands of cryptocurrencies is not at all bad. However, the role that each cryptocurrency plays in the advancement of society is what matters the most. Several are available in the market, the main objective of which is to be used as speculative tools. However, many may fail along the way when the bubble bursts. In the end, we will only be left with just a handful of options to help achieve mainstream adoptions.

Final Thoughts

Varied types of cryptocurrencies are available because they differ in the role and functions that they play. ICO is also a fast way to make lots of money. The logic behind the introduction of so many cryptocurrencies is just simple. Some several companies and organizations are adopting blockchain technology in their payment system. Several are also invented to lure people into investing in coins.

So many cryptocurrencies are introduced, but they have different objectives. Bitcoin was the first virtual currency, and now many are developed with the same technology.

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Early life

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss were born on August 21, 1981, in Southampton, New York. Their father, Howard Winklevoss, is a reputed academic and entrepreneur. Brothers had a sister as well, Amanda, who passed away in 2002 at the age of 23. They spent the educational years in Greenwich, Connecticut, where they both attended the Greenwich Country Day School and later Brunswick High School.

In 2000, they both started economy studies at Economics at Harvard. They both completed studies and graduated in 2004, getting B.A. degrees in Economics. For their post-graduation studies, they registered at Oxford University’s Said Business school in 2009. In a year time, they had completed their MBAs. While on this additional study at Oxford, they were competing in the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race.

Facebook case

In 2004, extravagant brothers, along with Divya Narendra and the ConnectU platform, filed a case against Facebook for violation of a contract. The lawsuit was claiming that Mark Zuckerberg, the owner of Facebook, renewed an oral agreement and copied the origin code of the ConnectU platform, which he was expanding for the twins and used the same to create his social network.

The case was closed in February of 2008 for a total amount of $65 Million for the benefit of brothers. The ConnectU internet domain address got switched off. Anyhow, in 2010, the persistent twins were chasing Facebook with another accusation. This time the problem was in securities deception on account of the incorrect appraisement of Facebook shares used during the calculation of the compromise offer. $25 million out of the $65 Million agreement offer were in cash; the rest $45 Million was in shares, which the Winklevosses and Narendra reported as particularly miscalculated. In this case, the 9th U.S. circuit of appeals ruled against them.

Blockchain technology career

These two celebrities first came in touch with Bitcoin for their holiday time in Ibiza in 2012. The digital currency was presented to them by their friend, and it caught their attention. They showed interest and signed in for buying Bitcoin, and at the same time, they were going deeper into the entire concept of Blockchain technology. This kind of business-suited them ideally, since they grew up next to noted entrepreneurial – their father and their economic education and knowledge were very useful.

They began by investing in a lot of Bitcoin-related companies and services – Xapo, a Bitcoin wallet and vaulting service, a software firm, 21, and a lot of other endeavors.

The most significant step to the Bitcoin glory was in March of 2013 when they decided to buy 100,000 Bitcoins. The twins were purchasing Bitcoin before this time, beginning the previous year when the price of Bitcoin was still in the single dollar digit. Winning a $65 Million worth case from Facebook where $25 million was in cash out of that amount, was good reason enough to make them invest $11 Million in Bitcoin.

In November of 2017, the price of Bitcoin was around $11,300, which gave the conclusion that the two brothers had become Bitcoin billionaires. The value of their 2013 investment has rapidly and massively grown by more than 10,000% in a bit longer than four years. The price of Bitcoin was continuously rising during the last few weeks of 2017, almost hitting the $20,000. They are officially the only Bitcoin billionaires besides the anonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin.

These are highlighted quotes from famous brothers:

“My favorite toy as a kid was Legos. I loved building things, and that’s what we are doing with SumZero.”

“When you have a lot of talent, you don’t necessarily have to be gracious and consider everyone.”

“We have elected to put our money and faith in a mathematical framework that is free of politics and human error.”

Winklevoss Twins Net Worth 2023

As of 2023, the Winklevoss brothers have an estimated net worth of $1.45 billion.

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