Despite the usual volatility of the cryptocurrency market, its main proponents remain undaunted. In fact, it could be said that crypto investors are more confident today than ever before. While Bitcoin’s market cap is currently around $1 trillion, experts believe that this number will rise to $10 trillion in the coming years.

This rapid growth is due to how Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are fast becoming mainstream financial tools. And much of this development can be attributed to the rise of crypto poker rooms. Indeed, cryptocurrency-funded online poker rooms are becoming more and more common across America. This is particularly true in states with very strict restrictions against online poker sites and platforms. Currently, online poker is only allowed in Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, the other 45 states don’t allow banks to process any transactions related to online poker, which is where Bitcoin and other cryptos come into the equation.

Apart from being quicker to process than your average bank transaction, there are no laws preventing players from transacting with online poker platforms using cryptocurrency. Even if you come from any of the 45 states with strict rules against online gaming transactions, you’re free to play online poker with real money as long as you do it with crypto.

This is why it’s not uncommon for today’s players to maintain their own cryptocurrency-funded online wallets in order to stay in the game. After purchasing cryptocurrencies using these digital wallets, players then transfer the funds to their respective online poker accounts. In turn, they can either convert crypto winnings into other fiat currencies or use cryptocurrencies for whatever other purpose. And since no banks are involved in any of the transactions, this is technically legal to do in all U.S. states. Because of this, crypto poker rooms are rising fast.

By the end of 2020, online crypto-funded poker rooms bought millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies just to meet the rising demand.

“Right now 90-95% of our payouts are people asking for Bitcoin because it’s going up,” explained Winning Poker Network (WPN) chief executive Phil Nagy. “We are constantly having to go out and buy Bitcoin – lots. Lots. More than we’ve even had to before.”

WPN started to accept cryptocurrencies for poker transactions back in 2014. By 2019, they set the world record for the largest crypto poker jackpot in history at $1 million. Today, WPN continues to be part of the cryptocurrency-driven rise of online poker.

Due to these developments, some speculate that Bitcoin could be the key to the creation of pro online poker policies across the U.S. There’s certainly no shortage of billionaires and kingmakers who not only support and invest in crypto, but may also have the ear of state or national policymakers. And whether or not legislators agree with the rising use of crypto, they may soon be unable to ignore the potential state gains of taxing crypto poker rooms. In any case, the use of cryptocurrency in online poker is bound to continue and rise in the coming years.

Author Credit: George Chavez is an online blogger with a passion for poker. He loves writing about the game and how it is evolving and hopes his articles are informative to fellow players. Aside from playing poker he is also a chess player.

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