Bitcoin Fluctuations Confuse Gamblers
Tia Winter | 7 June 2017
The value of Bitcoin has seen a massive upswing in recent weeks, in part due to the legalisation of the crypto-currency in Japan. Towards the end of March, a single Bitcoin traded for around $1,000 – but now the price has grown to a whopping $2,200, far outrunning the performance of any other international currency.
On May 24th, the currency’s value hit record highs of $2,791.69 per Bitcoin before investors claimed their share if the profits. The selloff came to over US$4 billion, marking an unprecedented performance for the decentralised digital currency system.
Bitcoin has proved popular over the years with online gamblers, who enjoy being able to play anonymously thanks to Bitcoin’s intangible nature. However, its current fluctuations are making it all but impossible to determine what these players are wagering in each spin of an online slot or table game.
Bitcoin Casinos Respond To Recent Value Increases
To demonstrate this point, many online casinos that use Bitcoin offer slots that can be played for as little as 0.05 mBTC (one millionth of a Bitcoin, or a ‘millibitcoin’) per spin. Currently, 0.05 mBTC is worth around 11 cents – while at the end of March, it was valued at closer to 5 cents.
Bitcoin’s rapid growth in value has meant that online gamblers using the crypto-currency are now risking much more money on each game than ever before. Some Bitcoin casinos have responded to the increase by lowering their minimum bets, but for those who aren’t monitoring the currency’s casinogrowing value, the increase could pose a serious threat to their pockets.
Investing in the Bitcoin industry has always been something of a risk, and especially so since its open-source software hit mainstream news feeds in 2013. From being valued at just $15 in January, Bitcoins’ price shot up to well over $1,000 by November of the same year. Later on in 2015, Bitcoin would then lose a massive 80% of its value, slowly regaining its status over the years.
Japan’s Recognition Of Bitcoin Renews Interest
Now that Japan has formally recognised Bitcoin as a legal currency, its value has also shot up considerably. However, the recent WannaCry ransomware attack that demanded Bitcoin ransoms from Microsoft systems again gave the digital currency a negative reputation.
Regardless, financial experts are hailing Bitcoin’s recent selloff as nothing more than a corrective move, and many are still confident that its price will stabilise soon. The total value of all Bitcoins in circulation worldwide stands at around $37 billion.
Gatecoin CEO Aurelien Menant has noted that there is plenty of fresh liquidity being pumped into Bitcoin thanks to a renewed interest among Asian investors. The expert noted that he would not be shocked to see Bitcoin’s price doubling to over $6,000 by the end of this year.