Despite the surge in Bitcoin’s value in recent weeks, altcoins remain a popular means of payment according to an industry report published this week.
True to form, Bitcoin’s market value has fluctuated significantly this year, though its value still remains far higher than in 2022 and 2023, when the crypto market as a whole felt the impact of scandals like the FTX collapse.
The approval of Bitcoin ETFs in the US and Bitcoin halving event drove value up beyond $70,000 in early 2024 but it subsequently dipped again during the summer to around $58,000.
This decline has driven altcoin’s popularity as a payment for igaming, according to SOFTSWISS, a gaming software solutions provider. The firm found that altcoins – meaning all cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin – accounted for 47% of crypto bets placed during the first nine months of 2024.
This is a significant increase on the 25.1% altcoins accounted for in the same period last year. Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s share dropped 22% during this period, whilst Tether, Litecoin and Ethereum saw growth of 8%, 7.8% and 4.9%, respectively.
Overall, SOFTSWISS states that there is ‘stable interest’ in crypto from igaming customers.
The firm found that the crypto bet sum rose 15.2% in the first nine months of the year, though Q3 saw a 9% decline from Q2, in line with the decline in exchange rates of Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ether. Its report added that the crypto bet count rose 15.2%.
Vitali Matsukevich, Chief Operating Officer at SOFTSWISS, said: “Integrating crypto payments allows igaming businesses to operate globally, delivering greater speed and convenience.
“With igaming’s naturally borderless reach, this expands platforms’ access to a wider international audience, boosting their global growth potential.”
SOFTSWISS remains confident that crypto engagement with betting will continue, with 58% of its 2025 survey respondents identifying crypto as a ‘primary driver’ of growth in new markets.
It is certainly true that crypto is a popular method of payment in some new markets, particularly those in Latin America. On the other hand, major forthcoming betting sectors like Brazil have prohibited crypto, along with cash, as a means of payment for betting when its market goes live in January.
The Malta-based firm further shows that total bet sum, including both fiat currency and crypto, during the first nine months of this year rose 43.1% and the bet count rose 44.5%. It is important to note though that the fiat bet sum rose 50.4%, more than the crypto bet sum, with SOFTSWISS observing a ‘slower pace’ for the latter compared to the former.
Crypto betting as a whole is a grey area in many regulated betting markets, and is outright prohibited in others. As the value of the sector continues to climb this situation does have the potential to change – the election of vocally pro-crypto Donald Trump as US President could also indicate changing government attitudes to the sector in 2025.
