Ethereum Crypto Guide
If you’ve visited a few online crypto casinos, you’ll have noticed that Ethereum is one of the most widely available deposit options. But is it any good? And how do Ethereum casinos compare to other options, like Bitcoin, or even fiat sites?
Find out everything you need to know in our guide to Ethereum casinos.
What is Ethereum?
Ethereum is an open-source crypto network, while Ether (ETH) is the token. We thought about writing this article in a technically accurate way, but the truth is that most people use these two terms interchangeably. So, even if we don’t love it, we’ll be calling ETH “Ethereum” and vice versa. Just like how they ruined the word ‘literally’.
It’s usually risky business to say that anything in crypto will stick around forever, but Ethereum has definitely cemented its place in the top two cryptos for almost its entire history, since 2017. So, it’s a safe bet that Ethereum will be available at most new crypto casinos for a long time to come.
Ethereum vs Bitcoin
While Ethereum occupies the number two spot in terms of market cap, Bitcoin is firmly at number one. Delve down enough Reddit rabbit holes and you’ll hear murmurings of “the flippening”, a projection from ETH users that it’ll one day take the top spot. But it seems that day is a while away yet.
With ETH and BTC being the top two cryptos, it’s natural that crypto casino players would wonder which one offers the best experience. There are lots of variables, so we’ve summed up the key ETH vs BTC comparisons below:
Ethereum at Crypto Casino
If your first experience at online crypto casinos also happened to be the first time you deposited using crypto, you probably went with Bitcoin. It’s the most logical starting point. But using ETH at crypto casinos has a lot of extra perks.
With faster transactions, lower fees, and all of the same games and bonuses, you can think of ETH as your second step. After that, you can begin to weigh up the pros and cons of crypto casinos that accept Ripple, meme coins and so on.
One thing that really stands out about Ethereum is its versatility, which can come in really handy at crypto casinos. And that’s largely down to ERC-20 tokens.
What is ERC-20?
ERC-20 stands for Ethereum Request for Comment number 20. The technical definition is that it’s a standard for creating fungible tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. The plain English translation is that it’s how other companies make their own coins, which can then be sent and received in the same way as ETH.
Casinos can use this tech to create their own coins and award them to players. You can read about one example of this happening in our WSM crypto casino review. It may not have gone too smoothly for them, but you can see how a casino having its own coin could be really useful for players when it comes to things like increased cashback and rewards, access to exclusive promotions, and so on.
Pros and Cons of Ethereum
Ethereum is definitely one of the strongest and most practical options if you want to deposit at a crypto casino, but it’s not without its own flaws.
Here are the biggest pros and cons of using Ethereum at casinos:
Pros
- Avoid KYC. Using Ethereum casinos means you can avoid tedious and invasive KYC checks.
- Faster and cheaper than BTC. If it’s a straight choice between the two, ETH comes out on top.
- Secure. Bar a data breach in 2016, the Ethereum network has not been hacked and is very robust.
Cons
- Network confusion. Different blockchains operate on the Ethereum network, which can be confusing for new users.
- Always changing. The Ethereum roadmap is always being updated with scaling solutions and developments, so you need to keep on top of crypto news.
- Not the leader. ETH is neither the biggest crypto by market cap, nor the fastest among the top 20 coins.