USD Coin was conceived as digital dollars. The idea was not so much to replace the fiat currency as to increase the compatibility of US dollars with the crypto world. There were benefits in the form of fast and cheap transactions, so its eventual success came as no surprise.
By the end of 2020, the market capitalization of USD Coin has reached $3.4 billion. With such a market cap, USDC is currently holding the 11th place in the top 100 crypto assets according to CoinMarketCap. It draws the attention of not only cryptocurrency news websites, but large financial institutions as well.
USD Coin stands alongside other stablecoins pegged to the USD. There are quite a few of them now: Tether, Dai, TrueUSD, Neutrino USD, Empty Set Dollar, and other, less popular assets. However, USDC has only one real competitor in the crypto gambling space, which is Tether, also known as USDT.
Perceptive fans of slot and table games must have already noticed the advent of USD Coin in casinos that accept cryptocurrency. There are just a few of such crypto gaming sites right now, sure. But, according to some press releases from well-known resources, the idea of USDC gambling has been already met with enthusiasm. Truth be told, that was in the cards.
Cloudbet is a licensed sportsbook and USDC crypto casino. The resource is regarded as one of the first gaming operators that started to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Today, sportsbook Cloudbet offers great odds for those who want to make bets using USD Coin and other cryptocurrencies.
USD Coin casino Cloudbet has a range of various entertainments for its users. These are several thousands of slots and table games, progressive jackpots, and games with live dealers from three different providers. Furthermore, this crypto casino also has craps, dice, and game shows.
If you top up your balance with 10 UDSC or more, the resource will give you a 100% bonus up to 1,000 USDC. You will be receiving this amount gradually: 10 USDC for each 100 loyalty points you earn on the website. Besides that, there are 50% reload bonuses up to 0.025 BTC on Mondays and up to 0.05 BTC on Wednesdays.
Those who like betting with USD Coin can take advantage of zero-margin promotions. One of them highlights certain sports events with yellow color. If you happen to notice such a yellow highlight on an event, you will be able to make that bet without the sportsbook fee. Sometimes there are other deals like zero fees on NBA games.
By the way, USD Coin is just one of four stablecoins that allow you to bet on sports and play casino games at Cloudbet.
Crypto casino & sportsbook 1xBit makes it possible to use USD Coin as an additional currency for your account. It allows you to make USDC bets on various sports and e-sports in pre-match and live modes. You can also bet on world politics there.
There is a convenient statistics feature that helps you evaluate the strong and weak sides of prominent teams or athletes. It is really useful for those USD Coin betting fans that enjoy analyzing previous games and comparing overall performances.
As for USD Coin casino games, 1xBit offers its players slot games from more than a hundred providers, as well as baccarat, blackjack, poker, roulette, several types of lottery, and other games. This crypto casino even has some exclusive 1xBit games which you can find in the respective section. There are games for everyone, with themes ranging from Avengers to Game of Thrones.
This resource has not only a mobile version but also official applications for iOS and Android devices. Besides that, 1xBit has opened a promo code store for its users. Yes, that is right: you can buy promo codes with various rewards in this USD Coin casino. There are free spins, freebets, free lottery tickets, and other gifts. Furthermore, you can get a welcome bonus up to 7 BTC for your deposits.
The value of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin is based on a strictly limited supply, spent resources, and technical features. In the case of USD Coin, the exchange rate is fixed while the supply fully corresponds to the USD reserve holdings. One unit of the cryptocurrency always costs one US dollar.
With USDC, you can exchange and transfer US dollars anywhere in the world in just a few minutes. The transactions are being carried out at the speed of your Internet connection, while the technology makes them much cheaper and faster if compared to fiat currencies.
There are players that often exchange cryptocurrency and fiat money both ways. The long-term growth of the asset’s price does not matter as much in this case. Short-term slumps, however, may not only kill the mood but also take a bite from your bankroll. The stability of USD Coin is going to be a significant advantage if you make frequent deposits to and withdrawals from your bitcoin casino account.
This is of particular importance for high roller players. Sometimes they have to spend quite some time to withdraw all their winnings due to the restrictions of some BTC casinos. If they win big money and the withdrawal limits are low, this could last for weeks and even months.
The crypto world has seen some really good examples. In the period from mid-February to mid-March 2020, the Bitcoin price dropped from $10,000 to $5,000. If someone was stuck in the bitcoin withdrawal process during those weeks, it must have been really sad to watch. The number of winnings was probably melting away right before their eyes while their hands were tied by the rules of the resource.
It is a whole different story with USD Coin, where 1 USDC can always be redeemed for $1. The amount of winnings would be the same in February, March, August, September, and so on.
That is why the best crypto casinos for high rollers offer stablecoins among their payment methods. So far, Tether is taking the lead in terms of ubiquity. However, USD Coin is gaining traction, gradually becoming a viable payment option in cryptocurrency casinos, including the ones for big-time players.
Like most cryptocurrencies, USD Coin stands out among traditional payment methods due to its high speed of transaction processing and much lower cost of transfers. A bank transfer may be coming through for days, and payment systems may charge some considerable commission fee on each operation. Meanwhile, USDC allows you to transfer money almost immediately and at a really cheap price as you only have to pay for the transaction in the Ethereum network.
Playing casino games with USD Coin for a longer period, you can save up some significant money on fees and other similar expenses. Deposits in fiat money are usually more expensive because of financial intermediaries. In this case, however, money is being sent directly from one account to another.
Some people may consider speed as a low-priority factor, but it is uncommon. A fast transaction not only saves your time but also keeps you away from extra stress. Nobody wants to worry about a payment that has not yet been completed after half an hour. Cryptocurrencies offer an elegant and transparent mechanism of sending money, and USD Coin is no exception in that regard.
Coming back to winnings and large amounts, we should probably mention another benefit of USDC in crypto casino games. This one is not as evident, but it is still pretty significant for some categories of gamblers.
USD Coin is a regulated stablecoin that is backed by US dollars and short-term US Treasury obligations. An independent auditing company, Grant Thornton LLP, regularly checks the reserves. That is why the USDC price is always on the same level as the USD. The lack of dramatic changes in its price means that it is great for value preservation.
If you make a deposit, play casino games using cryptocurrency, and manage to retain the same balance of your casino account, your crypto funds will still have the same value as before. A 100 USDC deposit will be equal to $100, and a 100 USDC withdrawal will be $100 as well.
Furthermore, USD Coin may be useful for those who play games using Bitcoin, too. If you have a bad feeling about the BTC price, you can simply exchange some bitcoins for USD Coin. This way, you will preserve the USD equivalent of your winnings rather than rely on the whims of fate.
USDC is an ERC-20 token that is released on the Ethereum blockchain. It means that you can store it on any wallet that supports this protocol. The Centre website mentions such popular wallets as Atomic Wallet, BitGo, Coinbase Wallet, Coinomi, Exodus, Ledger, and many others.
Some features of USD Coin may easily be considered as cons by a range of crypto gambling fans. You might want to learn about them before you start playing crypto casino games using USDC.
Crypto evangelists are unhappy with the fact that the value of USDC is in direct accordance with the price of US dollar. There has been a heated debate about «liberal currency printing» and predictions about possible inflation of the USD. In that view, Bitcoin and other similar assets look especially appealing as they are not controlled by a government and their supply is limited algorithmically. USD Coin, on the contrary, is allegedly prone to the undesirable consequences of those money-printing affairs.
Claims about the US dollar ceasing to be an international reserve currency have more sensationalism than weight at their core. The very fact of these discussions, however, usually has a positive impact on the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. And yet, it may dissuade some people from USD Coin, provided that they are waiting for the «upcoming inflation».
As a value preservation instrument, USD Coin will not be too popular with people who want to «invest in crypto» and earn money on its long-term price growth. The only possible profit may come through the US dollar exchange rate growth, and we can hardly regard it as earnings.
If you want to tokenize or redeem USDC for dollars via Circle, you will have to verify your identity and provide your active bank account. It will not please those players that appreciate cryptocurrencies for the anonymous gambling and betting options.
However, you do not have to exchange USD Coin through Circle. There are about fifty cryptocurrency exchanges that allow you to buy and trade this digital currency.
Unlike decentralized cryptocurrencies, the USD Coin project stipulates that its creators have the right to freeze the funds or blacklist the address of a USDC token holder. That being said, it may happen only if there are suspicions of illegal activities. Such an approach is quite common among stablecoins.
USD Coin is the product of a collaborative effort by crypto exchange Coinbase, mining company Bitmain, and payments platform Circle. It was Circle that had announced a new stablecoin, which was launched as USD Coin in September 2018. Goldman Sachs, one of the world’s biggest investment companies, had previously invested in a Circle’s $50 million fundraising round.
USD Coin is an Ethereum-powered smart contract with convenient transaction instruments. Consortium Circle guarantees that each USD Coin token is backed by one US dollar. The reserves of fiat currency are audited on a regular basis, so anyone can take a look at the auditor’s monthly USD reserve reports.
Here are some frequent uses for stablecoins like USD Coin:
1. Instant low-cost money transfers all over the world
2. Crypto asset short trading without withdrawals
3. Purchases in decentralized apps and blockchain games
4. Money value preservation (especially in countries affected by hyperinflation)
5. Bypass of traditional financial instruments and institutions
As of today, USDCoin allows you to trade and send money in more than 80 countries. It streamlines payments via bank transfers and cards while preserving the value of your funds in a stable crypto asset.
Confidence that USDC crypto holders can redeem the tokens for dollars any time they want, contributes a lot to the growth of the ecosystem. Hundreds of companies are already working with USD Coin. These are cryptocurrency exchanges, e-wallets, DeFi protocols, payment systems, savings and lending services providers, and others.
The main difference between USD Coin and Tether lies in full transparency of the financial activities inside the ecosystem. USDC issuers submit regular reports with regard to their USD reserves, which can later be seen in the reports of one of the largest accounting organizations in the USA, Grant Thornton LLP.
Overall, Circle follow a more regulatory-friendly approach. On the other hand, Tether Limited ran into a subpoena from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission after the regulating body had doubted that they have enough US dollars in their reserves.
There are about 50 crypto exchanges where you can buy and sell USDC. You would need a certain amount of other currency in order to buy it; it could be Bitcoin, Ethereum, US dollars, and so on. Here are several popular platforms where you can exchange digital and fiat currencies:
• Binance
• Poloniex
• Coinbase
• BitFinex
• OKCoin
The most traded USDC pairs are the ones with Tether, Bitcoin, and Ethereum. If you want to buy USD Coin for casino gambling, you might want to pay attention to these currencies. You can also find a longer list of exchanges where you can trade USD Coin on centre.io website.
