Virtual currencies have taken the world of business by storm in recent years. They offer more security, and they are also safer than traditional forms of payment.
Most Prominent Virtual Currencies
Bitcoin is probably the most famous form of virtual currency. Even if people do not really understand what it is, it is more than likely they have heard of it. Ethereum is also a big player in the virtual currency world. Both Bitcoin and Ethereum are known to be safe and reliable and have made their investors, especially the early ones, a fortune.
Now that virtual currencies are more well-known and trusted, their application is growing for all different types of online businesses. Here is a look at some of the industries that show the value of incorporating virtual currencies.
Banking
Major banks have made use of cryptocurrencies, as they offer a safer and faster alternative to traditional methods. This also prompted some major banks to invent their own form of cryptocurrency. JP Morgan has introduced the JPM Coin for easier value transfer between clients.
Food Sector
Many businesses have started to accept cryptocurrency as a way to pay for goods. Domino’s, Chipotle, Chuck E Cheese’s, DoorDash, and Uber Eats are among the food industry pioneers that will accept the payment to be done via cryptocurrency.
The trend has spread even to grocery stores, as now you can use virtual currency to pay for goods at Whole Foods as well.
Blockchain technology, which is closely associated with virtual currencies, has the potential to be widely beneficial in the food sector. With the help of blockchain, food quality and safety can be ensured more reliably.
Online Casinos
In recent years, online casinos and sports betting sites have made the transition to widely accepting virtual currencies as payment, due to the many advantages they bring. Because of the advanced encryption, the transactions are stored on a decentralized blockchain platform, and as such, they are close to impossible to breach or hack into.
Players would often be left frustrated because historically, signing up to a casino and going through the deposit and withdrawal processes could drag on, however, crypto makes this procedure seamless and swift.
Regardless of whether it is sports betting or top new sweeps cash casinos, virtual currencies are here to stay.
Social Media
It is without a doubt that virtual currencies owe a significant part of their recent success to social media. It was through posts made on Reddit, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram, that cryptocurrencies were introduced to the masses, and it is thanks to these posts that they gained as much popularity as they did.
Entertainment Industry
Payment via virtual currencies is becoming increasingly prevalent in the entertainment industry, with certain streaming services, such as Dish Network, or Sling TV, allowing users to pay for their favorite type of television with cryptocurrency.
This ensures that a wider audience is being reached, thus giving the TV show more exposure.
Traveling
Virtual currencies are being introduced in the worldwide industry of travel and tourism. The conversion rates of traditional currencies are high, making traveling and paying with a conventional credit card more expensive. Moreover, far more people have smartphones compared to bank accounts, and a smartphone is all you need to start using virtual currency.
Virgin Galactic is one of the airlines that has started to accept payments via cryptocurrency. If you would like to use a third-party application instead, there are many that allow you to use virtual currency, such as CheapAir.com.
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding helps creators, inventors, or entrepreneurs get the funding needed to finish their current project. By crowdfunding with the use of virtual currencies, a new level of transparency is reached, due to the nature of how transactions are processed.
Braid was the first movie to be completely funded by cryptocurrency, as it raised a whopping $1.7 million. Without the use of virtual currency, this would most likely not be possible.
Online Gaming
With online gaming on the rise in recent years, it was merely a matter of time before cryptocurrency would be fully incorporated into it. Certain games now allow players to buy in-game accessories that may be purely aesthetic in nature, or give players a much-needed advantage. In some of these games, these purchases can be made with the help of virtual currency.
Some games also allow gamers to earn money in the form of cryptocurrency, by reaching achievements, winning, or even watching an ad.
Final Words
Virtual currencies have already proven that their application can be spread across numerous areas of different businesses. Their transparency and increased security are the most prominent factors in their recent rise in popularity. If this trend continues, we may see a form of virtual currency in just about every business industry.
