BetOnline Poker has now added the facility for players to fund their accounts using the Ethereum cryptocurrency as well as Bitcoin and Litecoin.
BetOnline Poker has now added the facility for players to fund their accounts using the Ethereum cryptocurrency as well as Bitcoin and Litecoin.
BetOnline Poker has now added the facility for players to fund their accounts using the Ethereum cryptocurrency as well as Bitcoin and Litecoin.
Using cryptocurrencies to fund online poker accounts is hardly a new concept. Seals with Clubs and Switch Poker were among several online poker sites accepting Bitcoin deposits as early as 2011. Since then, some of the biggest players in the industry have responded to players´ requests by adding cryptocurrency deposit options – the Winning Poker Network starting the trend [geolink href=”https://www.pokernewsreport.com/winning-poker-network-accepts-bitcoin-for-deposits-15431″]in January 2014[/geolink].
By comparison, BetOnline Poker was a relative latecomer to the party. The site first provided a Bitcoin deposit facility in March 2015, and – in February 2017 – added Litecoin deposits and withdrawals to its cashier. Now the flagship site on the Chico Poker Network has announced it will accept Ethereum deposits from players – although, at present, a withdrawal option is not yet available.
Ethereum is similar to Bitcoin inasmuch as it is a cryptocurrency distributed via a public blockchain platform. In the Ethereum environment, “Ether” is earned by proof of work (POW), which means that it can be mined with video cards. In a way it is a bit like getting paid by Amazon for letting its AWS clients use some of your computer´s processing or storage capacity.
Ether can be bought and sold via online exchanges with low transaction fees synonymous with cryptocurrencies. It can be kept in desktop, hardware or mobile wallets, and spent online with the same ease as Bitcoin. For people uninterested in how Ether/Ethereum is created, it is used in just the same way as Bitcoin (and multiple other cryptocurrencies), although a lot less expensive.
However, before rushing to buy Ethereum, readers should note the price of Ether can go down as well as up. At the start of the year, 1 Ether costed $8.00. The price peaked at $391.00 in the summer before falling back to $163.00 in the early fall. The price of Ether is currently on a recovery mission, but still subject to volatility. If you are intending to purchase Ether in order to play online poker, never invest more than you can comfortably afford to lose!
In addition to BetOnline and sites on the Winning Poker Network giving players the opportunity to deposit using various cryptocurrencies (the WPN cashier now supports more than sixty different cryptocurrencies), Ignition Poker and Bovada Poker also facilitate Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash deposits. Outside of the US, few other mainstream online poker sites offer this service.
The rest of the world is mostly still lacking cryptocurrency support. One of the reasons for this might be that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general are not (yet?) regulated. It is however possible to fund some eWallets (i.e. Skrill and Neteller) with Bitcoin. Many US-facing online poker sites no longer provide an eWallet deposit option due to high payment processing fees, and therefore have to be the crypto-way trailblazers in order to provide deposit options other than debit and credit cards.
The benefits of funding an account with a cryptocurrency is that deposits are guaranteed to be accepted, there are minimal withdrawal charges (if any at all), and withdrawn funds are credited almost instantly to cryptocurrency wallets. Compared to players depositing with fiat currencies – who often have to wait 3-5 days to receive their winnings – players funding their online poker accounts with cryptocurrencies seem to be getting the better deal!
Although predominantly a US-facing poker site, BetOnline Poker accepts players from all over the world. The site has a fantastic range of promotions including weekly cash races, Sit & Go/MTT leaderboard competitions and a [geolink href=”https://www.pokernewsreport.com/bad-beat-jackpot-swells-to-over-536000-at-betonline-21942″]rapidly growing Bad Beat Jackpot[/geolink]. Furthermore, players making their first deposit are eligible for a valuable 200% bonus on up to $2,500 (or cryptocurrency equivalent).
Players making their first deposit this week also have the opportunity to play in Sunday´s $100K GTD tournament – BetOnline Poker´s biggest tournament of the month. The tournament gets underway at 7:00pm (ET) and has a direct buy-in of $109.00. The site also supports the event with a comprehensive satellite schedule starting at freeroll level (tomorrow night at 7:30pm ET).
You can find further information about these opportunities in our [geolink href=”https://www.pokernewsreport.com/betonline-poker”]BetOnline Poker review[/geolink], or visit the site directly by clicking on the link below. Remember to use the BetOnline Poker bonus code “[bonuscode room=”betonlinepoker”][/bonuscode]” when making your first deposit (min. deposit $50.00) in order to be eligible for the enhanced 200% bonus. Without this code you will only receive a 100% bonus on your first deposit.
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