Bitcoin already showed significant potential to be used as a day-to-day payment currency. Many crypto-powered Visa debit cards exist, such as Coinbase card, BitPay card, or Crypto.com’s Visa card. These crypto-powered Visa cards offer crypto users a gateway into traditional finance.
But what about companies that offer controversial products? Often, these companies can boost revenue by accepting crypto payments. Crypto offers more privacy than traditional payment gateways, making it an attractive option for selling controversial products or services.
This article takes a more in-depth look at various industries that accept crypto payments and the reason behind their decision.
Golden Era of the Online Gambling Industry
The gambling industry exists since the mid-90s. This industry has always been perceived as a “shady” industry. Yet, technological innovations have pushed the industry forward, removing its negative label.
The gambling industry has seen an immense boost in signups due to the rising of cryptocurrencies. Crypto has become an industry-accepted standard for online betting. Gamblers like the anonymity cryptocurrencies offer.
Crypto offers a fast payment gateway for casinos and reduces operational costs.
Yet, increased anonymity is not the only benefit. Often, depositing and withdrawing money is a slow process for casinos. When a gambler loses their money, they often want to top up their balance to continue playing. Cryptocurrencies provide a fast payment gateway for casinos to quickly deposit and withdraw money from the platform.
Furthermore, crypto removes any withdrawal limits banks impose (to protect gamblers). On the other hand, a casino has to spend fewer resources on operational tasks related to payment processing.
Aside from crypto’s monetary benefits for casinos, many of them have adopted blockchain technology to increase trust. A user can generate a new wallet on the platform to remain in control of their funds when playing on the platform.
Moreover, some gambling platforms have adopted blockchain technology to enable provably fair gaming.
Bitcoin.com explains how provably fair gaming stops cheaters, “provably fair means that the mechanisms used to generate results on a gaming platform can be vetted by the user independently for authenticity and randomness. Prior to the rise of blockchain solutions, users had to trust that their online casino was generating results without altering them according to the player’s bet, or some other arbitrary factor.” It’s a great way to boost trust.
Here's an example of edgeless.io who allows users to verify each seed for the randomly generated number in games (such as Dice in this image).
Virtual Private Network (VPN) Industry
For those that don’t know how a VPN works, here’s a short explanation by Sundus Noor:
"A VPN with its strong encryption ability masks your IP address and encrypts data. It means that when you get connected to the VPN, no one can track or read your data."
Nowadays, many VPN providers offer crypto payment solutions to their users. You might wonder why this industry has accepted crypto payments?
Many articles that cover cryptocurrency trading security guidelines encourage users to use a VPN to improve their privacy. A VPN provider helps you mask your IP address so hackers, malicious third-parties, or even government agencies can’t track you. The industry has seen many cases where people got tracked and received various phishing attempts to access their crypto wallet.
Therefore, it’s a logical move forward for the VPN industry to allow crypto users to pay with their beloved digital currency.
CBD Industry Accepting Crypto Payments For Marketing Purposes
Hemp legalization has solidified that products containing cannabidiol (CBD) aren’t going away. Last February, Stephen Hahn, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), acknowledged that it was “a fool's game” to attempt to pull hemp-derived CBD products off the market. Currently, the CBD industry is already worth billions, and will likely grow to $20 billion by 2024.
For those unaware of the product: CBD provides users with many proven benefits, such as pain relief and anxiety reduction. There’s no doubt the product is on a roadmap of further legalization in many other countries worldwide. You can even buy products like CBD-infused cheese or lollipops.
But what’s CBD’s link with the crypto industry? In some countries, the production of CBD-based products is not entirely legal. The same applies to buying the product. Again, users opt for crypto’s anonymity to buy CBD-based products.
On top of that, accepting crypto payments has shown that it drives sales. Therefore, many CBD retailers accept crypto to grow their business. For instance, companies like Kraken Kratom have embraced Bitcoin checkouts since 2014 and even provide clients with a 10% discount when using crypto.
In their case, crypto provides them with an easy and reliable payment mechanism. On top of that, it’s a great way to attract new users to the shop by offering alternative payment options.
Adult Industry Seeks for Crypto’s Anonymity
Again, crypto’s anonymity is its most favored characteristic. Yet, many people don’t understand that Bitcoin is pseudonymous. When they create an account with an exchange or use a fiat gateway to buy a cryptocurrency, they lose part of their anonymity. That’s why we often refer to Bitcoin as being pseudonymous.
Yet, when you pay for a service using cryptocurrencies, the website can only record your wallet address. Instead, when paying with your bank account, you lose some of your privacy. A data breach is always possible. If this happens, it’s not very hard to link your bank address to your identity. Instead, when using crypto, it’s almost impossible to link your wallet address to your identity.
Besides, the adult industry can also benefit from crypto payments. For instance, cam models prefer crypto payments over fiat payments because most major credit cards and payment platforms won't process payments for adult services.
Why Do Crypto Payments Thrive for Controversial Industries?
It’s clear that users like crypto payments as it offers them more privacy. Yet, the recent crypto hype also drives more visitors to websites that accept crypto payments. Many eCommerce websites have used this as part of their marketing strategy.
On top of that, crypto payments offer clear benefits for product-based websites:
- Lower operational costs
- Faster transaction handling than bank transfers
- Improved trust as users remain in control of their funds when using a crypto wallet
If you want to get started with crypto payments, make sure to pick a non-custodial wallet for improved security. If you don’t know the difference, check out this excellent guide by Ulrich Djowamon, which explains custodial vs. non-custodial wallets, and how to pick a Bitcoin wallet.