Is China the Next Big Market for Cryptocurrency Gambling?

by

China has always been closely tied to the cryptocurrency sector. For years now, experts have speculated about the role China plays in Bitcoin mining and recent reports indicate that the country is also heavily involved in Ethereum. But when it comes to gambling with Bitcoin, the Chinese market has played an insignificant role in the sector. However, according to one cryptocurrency expert, that may all change in the following years.

China to Lead the Crypto-Casino Market?

As reported by Calvin Ayre, cryptocurrency expert and founder of a blockchain casino, Darin Oliver, believes that the Asian nation is more than ready to take on cryptocurrency casinos, despite its fierce stand on gambling. Speaking to a reporter from Inside Asian Gaming at a Las Vegas conference last week, Oliver discussed the potential of China in the development of the blockchain gambling industry.

Oliver believes that the Asian region can add “massive growth” to the world of online gambling – an opinion based on the growth of internet penetration that is predicted for the country. Normally, when the number of new internet users rises in a region, so does the number of new online gamblers. In Russia, where online gambling is illegal, around 20 million new internet users are predicted to be added over the course of the next five years. But with China, that number is set at a massive 120 million.

Another reason why Oliver believes that China could lead the way is the fact that the largest cryptocurrency markets are now found in Eastern Europe and Asia. Reportedly, these are the same regions that are associated strongly with gambling, so the combination of all trends combined could create a “unique opportunity” for a crypto-gambling industry to develop in the region.

It is these statistics that leads Oliver to be “very bullish on online gambling” in the region, particularly gambling with cryptocurrencies. As for the local crackdown on the crypto sector in China, Oliver predicts that it won’t hold for too long considering that the local economy has had major hardships with the national currency, just like in a number of countries from Eastern Europe.

70% of Bitcoin Network Held by China

The idea of a big crypto-gambling market emerging in China may not be that impossible, considering how big of a control over the Bitcoin network local companies hold. According to a new paper from Princeton and the International University in Florida, China holds such a big portion of the BTC network in its hands that it could destroy Bitcoin at any given moment.

According to the findings in the paper, around 74% of Bitcoin’s hash rate – the power to mine Bitcoin and create new coins – is located currently in China. It is this large percentage that can enable Chinese miners to launch a 51% “attack” on the Bitcoin network and take over the entirety of it at any time. The country also has the means to launch censorship attacks, destroy the anonymity of the coin, as well as disrupt the whole network at a whim. With such a high power over a currency that established the whole crypto casino sector, it shouldn’t be at all surprising if Oliver’s predictions come true.