Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin or Dogecoin with a mostly decentralized, always distributed and cryptographically secured payment system. The term "crypto" comes from ancient Greek and means something like "conceal" or "protect".
By mid-2021, there were already more than 10,000 different cryptos worldwide. Only a fraction of these, however, have so far become established as cryptocurrencies. The current largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization in 2021 included:
The purpose of cryptocurrencies is to enable independent and cashless payment transactions without government supervision or control by banks. One of the reasons why the concept of cryptocurrencies is criticized is that it requires a high level of energy consumption to produce, which in turn contributes to global warming. Cryptocurrencies also have high volatility. This means that the currency rate can sometimes fluctuate very strongly.
Example: at the beginning of March 2020, one Bitcoin (BTC) still cost around 8,000 euros. One year later, in March 2021, it was temporarily more than 50,000 euros. A few months later, the price then fell again to as low as 26,500 euros in the summer of 2021.
Already, some cryptocurrencies have established themselves as a payment method, especially in the online sector. In June 2021, for example, the parliament in El Salvador passed a law to introduce the cryptocurrency Bitcoin as an additional official national currency. This makes the state in Central America, with a population of around 6.5 million, the first country in the world to introduce a cryptocurrency as its official national currency.
Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies are also accepted as a payment method in more and more online casinos. In most cases, online gambling providers offer at least Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ether or the Dogecoin as a Deposit or withdrawal method. However, cryptocurrencies are not yet available as a payment method in German online casinos.