The online gambling industry is changing forever with the growth of cryptocurrency. We’re seeing cryptocurrency casinos take off by giving players a better system where they have better privacy, transparency and a game they can play anywhere in the world without limitations.
To fully enjoy cryptocurrency games, it’s essential to understand transaction fees. In this article, we’ll break everything down for you, helping you optimize the gaming experience to the fullest.
But first, there are some questions that need to be answered…
What are Crypto Casinos?
Crypto casinos are like traditional casinos, just a lot more convenient. You don’t have to bother about traditional banks and the limits of fiat currencies because these casinos use cryptocurrencies for their transactions. Popular currencies like Ethereum, FTN, Bitcoin, XRP, etc, are the currencies of the business, and they eliminate cross-border transaction fees and exchange rate issues.
What are transaction fees?
These are fees charged during cryptocurrency transactions like deposits and withdrawals. They are usually a small percentage of your total transaction amount but can also be charged for other reasons.
Types of Transaction Fees in Crypto Casinos
Network or Gas Fees: Gas fee is what cryptocurrency networks charge users to process a transaction on the blockchain. It’s impossible to process transactions without gas fees, just like you can’t drive your non-electric car without gas.
Different cryptocurrencies charge different fees depending on platform and network congestion. Examples are Solana and Dogecoin, with the former having a usual gas fee of about $0.00025 for every transaction and the latter a higher $0.04 fee. Litecoin is higher than Solana at $0.0025 but much cheaper than Ethereum, which is notorious for its expensive gas fees (casinosblockchain.io).
Casino Handling Fees: Crypto casinos sometimes charge what is called a “handling fee”. They use this to handle the business’ operational costs, including processing deposits and withdrawals. This fee varies and different casinos charge different amounts. Some casinos are expensive and even charge up to 5% of your winnings during withdrawals.
Currency Conversion Fees: One of the significant advantages of cryptocurrency casinos is that they eliminate currency conversion fees, so you might be surprised to see this heading. Not all casinos support all cryptocurrencies, so you can run into an instance where your casino doesn’t support the cryptocurrency you want to play with. In his instance, the casino will charge you a conversion fee to convert into a supported currency. The limitation of currencies is usually for security purposes and also to use more stable currencies, so in the end, you benefit from the limitation. The fees aren’t a lot, usually between 0.1 and 2% of the transaction amount.
Inactivity or Account Maintenance Fees: Now, this is something that might surprise you; some casinos charge for inactivity. This is why you need to know and understand the casino before you choose because some platforms charge a maintenance fee when there is no activity on your account. It also depends on the period of inactivity, some platforms only charge after 12 months of inactivity, but it is always great to check the terms and conditions so you’re not taken by surprise.
Factors Influencing Transaction Fees
A few factors affect how small or incredibly expensive a transaction fee can be.
1. Cryptocurrency Choice:
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Transaction Speed: The time it takes to complete a transaction is directly proportional to the transaction fee. This means faster transactions cost less, depending on the cryptocurrency in use. For example, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin are famous for being fast and having low transaction fees. What’s the rationale? Faster transactions require less energy, less computational speed, and in turn, less fee to process completely.
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Mining Algorithms: Something else that is important in terms of how much the fee is charged is the Mining Algorithm. Cryptocurrencies are mined using specific algorithms, which gets complicated during high traffic or congestion periods. The algorithms are called Proof-of-Work algorithms.
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Network Security: Cryptocurrencies also charge for security. In the cryptocurrency world, security is a huge deal. The cyber threats and risk of fraud are great, and cryptocurrencies with stronger security measures charge more for it. This isn’t a ripoff strategy as you might be thinking, because the security measures require larger block sizes during mining and more complex algorithms, and the fees are used to process these more complicated transactions.
2. Network Congestion:
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Transaction Volume: Just like highways and roads get log jammed during periods of high traffic, a blockchain network can get jammed, too, during periods of a high number of transactions and volume. At this point, miners on the network then prioritise transactions with higher fees over lower transactions, prompting others to pay more.
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Blockchain Upgrades: During periods of network upgrade, the same logjam issue can arise where the miners can only process a lower number of transactions and prioritise transactions with high fees. This helps the network reduce the number of transactions on the platform while they complete upgrades.
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Market instability: The instability or volatility of the market can also affect transaction fees. During periods of volatility, transaction fees rapidly increase.
3. Priority and Transaction Speed:
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Priority Fees: On the blockchain, you can pay for your transaction to be prioritised, and this will cost more in transaction fees
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Transaction Size: Larger transactions usually equal large transaction fees as they take more power to process.
Strategies to Minimize Transaction Fees
Select Low-Fee Cryptocurrencies: Take advantage of cryptocurrencies that charge low fees. As mentioned earlier, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Dogecoin charge low fees.
Monitor Network Conditions: In the cryptocurrency world, time is of the essence. Monitoring the system can save you money by initiating your transactions during low congestion and volatility periods. There are tools online to help you with tracking and fee estimation.
Optimise Bulk Transactions: One money-saving technique is withdrawing your casino winnings less frequently but in larger chunks. If timed optimally, you will save money when compared to how much fees you’d have incurred from many small withdrawals.
Choose Casinos with Transparent Fee Structures: A transparent casino can make all the difference in your cryptocurrency casino gaming experience. Go for a platform that clearly discloses how much their fees are and does not charge expensively. A great tip is playing your crypto casino games at VBETFTN, they’re upfront about their really low fees and guarantee the best experience.
Utilise Stablecoins: The best advice is to stick to Stablecoins when in doubt. Coins like Tether (USDT) are just as stable as their fiat counterparts, along with the many benefits of cryptocurrencies and lower transaction fees. Just remember to check for the fees on the blockchain network associated with the stablecoin.
Things to note:
Transaction fees can affect how much is withdrawable from your promotion winnings or bonuses because the fee will be deducted.
While focusing on platforms and cryptocurrencies that offer lower transaction fees, do not neglect security so as not to lose a lot more than the transaction fee you were avoiding in the first place. Use trusted and well-known wallets, and importantly, activate 2-factor authentication to further prevent theft.
Conclusion
Dealing with transaction fees in the cryptocurrency casino world is crucial. It can be daunting at first, but if you follow everything we have pointed out, you will quickly get the hang of things and become a pro yourself.
