Over the past 2 years, crypto turnover within the iGaming industry has significantly increased. The recently released SOFTSWISS corporate report confirms the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies.
Being the leading company in crypto gambling, SOFTSWISS keeps abreast of all trends related to the growth of crypto. The information from the detailed report shows the comparative data for the 1st quarter of 2021 and the same period of the current year based on the results of the SOFTSWISS Game Aggregator and the SOFTSWISS Casino Platform. In the article below the SOFTSWISS team gathered the most significant facts that reflect the state of the crypto gambling market at the moment, and offered the forecasts for the future changes.
Crypto Bets: X2 Growth
Along with the global trend, which shows the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies, the SOFTSWISS сorporate report also demonstrates the continuous development of crypto gambling. According to the statistics, the sum of bets in digital coins in Q1 2022 more than doubled compared to the same period last year. More precisely, it has grown by 116,7%.
“Stable growth of cryptocurrencies in the iGaming market allows us to say that crypto gambling has become an independent, full-fledged, and extremely promising line of business. Those brands that have adapted to these conditions and allowed their players to use all the benefits of cryptocurrencies have an advantage such as wider opportunities for operation and, accordingly, a wider audience,” noted Andrey Starovoitov, COO at SOFTSWISS.
Crypto & Fiat Currencies Bet Share: Blurring the Difference
Observing the ratio of different currencies, the numbers show that fiat currencies still hold the leading position, having 64% of the total volume. However, the share of cryptocurrencies is steadily growing every quarter. Compared with the same period last year, the share of crypto in Q1 2022 increased by almost 10 percentage points: from 26.3% to 35.9%. At the same time, in comparison to the first quarter of 2020, the share of cryptocurrencies has grown by 29 percentage points. If such dynamics continue, the share of fiat and cryptocurrencies may become equal over the course of the next year.
Top Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin is Decreasing Its Share
Even though Bitcoin has been the preferable cryptocurrency since it was introduced by SOFTSWISS, it showed a decrease in its share in Q1 2022 by 10 percentage points. This is related to the growing interest in Ethereum and Litecoin, the top altcoins at the moment. Their share has increased by 3.45% and 2.95% respectively. The precise share of the top 3 cryptocurrencies in Q1 2022 is the following:
- Bitcoin (BTC) 72.80%
- Ethereum (ETC) 13.45%
- Litecoin (LTH) 6.45%
Andrey Starovoitov, COO at SOFTSWISS, commented on the popularity of the cryptocurrencies today: “Bitcoin will still be the leading cryptocurrency for deposits in the near future. However, the strong growth of other altcoins demonstrates the interest in more advanced coins in terms of technology such as Ethereum. More players will prefer to diversify their funds with other cryptocurrencies. This is a positive trend related to the development of the market.”
The full list of the most used coins and their comparative analyses is reflected in the SOFTSWISS report.
Crypto Gambling in 2022: What to Expect?
The Q1 results, reflected in the company report, allow us to make the conclusion that cryptocurrencies will be showing further growth with subsequent changes in terms of coin share within the iGaming market. Diversification of cryptocurrencies used for betting will be one of the significant trends to influence the industry. At the same time, the trend in the regulation of the traditional casino will also characterise the development of crypto gambling in the future.
“The stronger regulation of traditional casinos will definitely attract new operators to the crypto gambling niche. In the next couple of years, we will see active growth in this market segment as most current leaders will join the niche. As for the product itself, we can highlight what you need to launch a successful crypto project based on our experience: connected crypto processing such as Coinspaid and crypto exchange services (Moonpay, Mercuryo.io, Utorg), as well as the in-game currency conversion for a wider selection of game content. However, new needs are already emerging. For instance, using NFTs to gamify the player experience and build a community of like-minded people around the online casinos,” summarised Andrey Starovoitov, COO at SOFTSWISS.
