Cryptocurrency has become such an investing phenomenon that most of the news surrounding it tends to be about the numbers these days. As we seek to predict the future with these difficult markets however, it’s still important to keep an eye out for areas of society in which significant adoption of cryptocurrencies is possible. For now, this still starts with bitcoin, and one area we’d recommend keeping an eye on is gaming.
On the one hand, this means monitoring online services that allow for the purchase and download of mainstream games. While plenty of people still buy physical console games, it’s becoming more and more popular to simply download them online, either for console or PC play. And there have been multiple instances of bitcoin being accepted for these purchases, by both Steam (the main PC marketplace for games) and Microsoft (for its Xbox-related accounts). Steam has halted bitcoin payments for now, but Microsoft is still in the game, and the longer that remains the case the more additional download services may be pressured to accept cryptocurrency as well. There’s a conceivable near future in which crypto is a mainstream method for paying for the latest video games.
Aside from these most conventional gaming spaces, the casino industry is also worth keeping a very close eye on. This is an extremely competitive gaming space in which different companies and websites constantly seek new ways to get a leg up on their rivals. It’s for this reason that there are competing matched deposits on so many sites, as well a range of sought-after bonuses that vary from one site to the next. Another way for casino platforms to differentiate themselves however is with different means of processing deposits and withdrawals. Some have turned to cryptocurrency to do exactly this, which makes bitcoin potentially trendy across the entire industry.
Lastly, there is also some potential for bitcoin to make a dent in the mobile gaming market, though this feels a little less likely than the two concepts outlined above. It’s worth noting that there’s a natural tie between mobile devices and cryptocurrency, such that Apple users are flocking to cryptocurrency already. That doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily start using crypto apps to make everyday purchases, but it does set up the possibility. There’s every chance that we’ll eventually be able to buy mobile games with bitcoin via just a few touches, if we can link wallet apps up as payment options the same way we currently link Apple Pay and credit and debit cards.
Taken all together, these various examples and ideas lay the groundwork for significant bitcoin activity in the world of gaming. How much of this actually comes to fruition, however, only time will tell.
