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Yes, an online poker site really did pioneer the cryptocurrency revolution

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What does Americas Cardroom have in common with Henry Ford and Elon Musk? It turns out, more than you think. Much like Henry Ford pioneered the automotive industry and Musk pushed electric cars forwards, Americas Cardroom gets a lot of credit for pioneering the cryptocurrency revolution and driving it forward.

© Clifford Photography @cliffordgatewood

We know what you’re thinking. How on earth did an online poker site almost singlehandedly fuel cryptocurrency interest? To find out, let’s take a trip back a couple of decades.

Online since 2001, Americas Cardroom has seen major swings in deposit and cashout conveniences for its players. And most of those swings have, unfortunately, been negative.

In its heyday, back when Chris Moneymaker started the online poker revolution by turning an online satellite win into a WSOP Main Event victory, it was relatively easy to get money into your online poker account. But as the industry grew, and as laws changed, things proved more difficult. In the best-case scenario, you were able to use your credit card to fund your account. In the still-tolerable scenario, you were able to employ a third-party service like Neteller to funnel money from your checking account or credit card into your poker account.

But when US laws changed in 2006, making it illegal for financial institutions to process credit card transactions intended for “illegal gambling” (a term that wasn’t really defined by legislation), it suddenly became virtually impossible to get cash into your account.

That’s when Americas Cardroom started to look for alternatives. And when Bitcoin came along, everything changed.

In 2015, Americas Cardroom became one of the first online poker sites to accept Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency that was slowly gaining popularity. And within just a few months, Americas Cardroom saw Bitcoin adoption increase at the Cashier, slowly but surely, reaching 3% of their overall business.

While 3% isn’t jaw-dropping by any stretch of the imagination, Americas Cardroom doubled down on its commitment to supporting cryptocurrency. And by 2017, the online poker room

expanded its portfolio to include over 60 cryptocurrencies. Today, cryptocurrency accounts for over 60% of their business.

Players have responded positively to crypto, choosing to play at Americas Cardroom over other sites, not just because of the big promotions, but because of how easy it is to get your money in and out of the site.

The proof is in the numbers. Poker players are attracted to sites with big guarantees. That’s because when a poker site guarantees a tournament, they believe that enough players will show up to play. And oh did players show up—in record numbers.

After years of occasionally hosting $1 million guaranteed tournaments, in 2019, Americas Cardroom launched the first $5 Million Venom. Billed as a multi-day online poker tournament with a $1 million GTD first-place prize, it ultimately attracted a record number of players, realizing a final prize pool of $6,382,500.

But players depositing with crypto wasn’t the end of the story. The cashout process actually ended up making history and setting records.

The winner of the Venom walked away with a first-place prize worth $1,050,560. But they didn’t opt for a check or a wire transfer. Instead, they received the funds in Bitcoin. And that set the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for the largest cryptocurrency winning jackpot in an online poker tournament.

The tournament’s success and the record-setting deposit made headlines around the world, driving even more cryptocurrency users to Americas Cardroom. After all, when you can get paid over a million dollars in a matter of seconds, people take notice.

And take notice they did. With a constantly-growing community, Americas Cardroom was able to boost its guarantees even more, creating tournaments with even bigger prize pools. In November 2019, Americas Cardroom put a $6 Million GTD Venom on the schedule. The final prize pool reached a whopping $6,750,000.

Not one to rest on their laurels, Americas Cardroom held more Venoms, including a new Progressive Knockout version in 2020. And that attracted even more crypto users, helping create even bigger prize pools.

But to accept cryptocurrency isn’t enough. A poker room has to also make it easy for players looking to deposit. The truth is, crypto can be confusing. Thankfully, Americas Cardroom has invested an unimaginable amount of time and resources to help players understand crypto, no matter which one they’re using. Players can watch help videos, read guides, and so much more.

That said, you don’t need a guide to start using crypto. Americas Cardroom makes it incredibly easy.

Crypto deposits are done within the Americas Cardroom poker app by going to the Cashier. The poker site then converts the player’s crypto into US dollars, which can be used to play poker, online casino games, or bet on sports.

Cashing out their winnings is easy, too. Americas Cardroom automatically converts the US dollars back into cryptocurrency and sends it directly to the player’s wallet.

If you’re looking to play poker with crypto, there’s no better place than a poker site that’s all about crypto. And if you’re just getting started, Americas Cardroom is a great place to get comfortable with it.

 

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