One of the major disruptors in the finance industry in recent years has been crypto. Some of the cryptocurrencies that came onto the scene quickly grew in value, meaning a lot of people saw them as investment opportunities.
Holding crypto such as Bitcoin became a popular thing to do as people would buy the currencies when they were in their infancy and try to work out which would gain in value. Trading in these currencies is still extremely popular.
Crypto isn’t just designed to be traded though, it is meant to be used. More and more people are now looking for what they can do with the currencies. How can they be spent or invested in other interesting ways?
Casino Gaming
Many different casinos have started to introduce cryptocurrencies as a method of deposit. Some casinos out there even specialize in specific crypto games. “Crash” is a great example of this. The game lets you back a vehicle, which is usually either a plane or a spaceship, and the flying craft will then move around the screen in perilous situations.
Players can cash out at the moment before they think it is going to explode, making it something of a guessing game. The Crash casino game always has a different outcome. There are lots of examples out there. You don’t necessarily have to play one of the newer games invented to be played with crypto, you can play casino classics like poker and blackjack, all while using crypto as your source of funds.
Buy Your Insurance
An industry some people are surprised to see adopting cryptocurrency is insurance. There aren’t a lot of companies that are allowing their customers to pay for insurance using crypto yet, but giants like AXA have started to allow people to pay for most insurance products using Bitcoin.
For regulatory reasons, it is not possible to buy life insurance using cryptocurrency at the moment, but AXA doesn’t mind you paying for other types of insurance in this way. The currency is then converted to Bitcoin.
Buy Games and Software
Whether you are playing basic games on an affordable laptop or you are the sort of person who has to have the best, latest software and hardware, you can pay for a lot of your games using Bitcoin. Microsoft has experimented with some form of Bitcoin payment as early as 2014, partnering with Bitpay to allow people to buy a lot of different software.
Other companies have also gone back and forth on the idea. For a long time, you could pay for things using cryptocurrency when you bought from Steam, but they withdrew this option. As a workaround, though, you can still buy Steam gift cards using cryptocurrency and use these for buying the latest games and add-ons.
Travel Around the World
Cryptocurrency can be a huge help when it comes to traveling. If you go to remote parts of the world then of course, you’re not going to be able to pay for things using crypto on your phone, but many aspects of travel do allow crypto payments.
Travel agents including Destinia will accept certain cryptocurrencies as a payment option. There are companies allowing you to book your rental car, a place to stay, and your air travel all without using traditional currencies.
In many parts of the world, you can also use a crypto ATM to withdraw money. In areas like Japan, the takeup of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has been impressive so while you are there you’ll find it easy to pay for things like food and entertainment, too.
Yield Farming
Though this does come with some risks, yield farming is another popular use of cryptocurrencies. You should definitely do your research before getting involved with this, but done right, yield farming can be a way to make money out of your crypto.
If you get involved, you are effectively lending your cryptocurrency to a liquidity pool, which can get you some rewards including interest. Some currencies can see a pretty high return compared to the interest you would get on a bank.
Interest is one thing that you don’t get with Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies so people are keen to work out how they can get a return. This type of borrowing is not insured so your liquid assets are at risk, but some people are happy to tolerate that risk to try and make a return.
Conclusion
We’ve all heard stories of people making money by buying the right crypto at the right time, but the currencies are meant to be traded and used, too, just like any other currency is.
Nowadays, you can buy your morning coffee, your flight tickets, and even your insurance using crypto, and the uses are only likely to continue to grow in the coming years as cryptocurrencies become the norm.
