Here at Vegas Election Odds, we mostly discuss things like…Vegas election odds.
But knowing where to bet and what to bet on – knowing how Donald Trump is faring on the odds boards for the 2024 Presidential election or how Ron DeSantis is doing as we inch closer to the 2022 Florida Governor election – is just one part of successfully betting on politics (or betting on anything else) over the Internet.
Once you’ve chosen your political betting operator and see some lines you like, you actually need to get money into your betting account before you can do anything else.
And these days, money can be hard to come by.
Gas is up over 50% since Joe Biden was installed as “President,” while basic commodities like meat, dairy, and Whataburger are priced through the roof. And, of course, there’s that whole “record unemployment” thing.
Bidenflation™ is very real, and with various other initiatives proposed by the Federal Reserve (like this nonsense about taxing unrealized capital gains so your 401K can be adequately plundered by Uncle Sam), the value of the US dollar is plummeting.
With betting, of course, that means the utility of the dollar – i.e. the utility of making fiat gambling transfers via Visa, Mastercard, American Express, cashier’s checks, money orders, and bank wires – is slipping with all speed.
Right now, there’s simply no reason to use the dollar for gambling online.
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t gamble online. Instead, it simply means you should use an alternative funding method.
That is, you should use cryptocurrency.
We’ve previously discussed how and where to buy crypto for online betting (Cash App Bitcoin betting is particularly compelling, as is purchasing BTC and other altcoins through Atomic Wallet), but we’ve never discussed which coins you should actually be focused on.
Remember, now more than ever, the name of the game is your maximization.
You want to grow your bottom line not just by placing and winning savvy bets, but by doing so in a manner that leads to better, more profitable investment opportunities after the fact.
In this light, it’s important to point out that all crypto coins are different and have different growth potentials. They also have different built-in blockchain transaction fees and different verification times/processing times.
All these are factors to consider with both crypto gambling deposits and withdrawals.
Right now, the three big online Vegas election betting sites we recommend support the following cryptocurrency deposit and payout options:
Bovada Sportsbook Crypto Options
- Bitcoin
- Bitcoin Cash
- Litecoin
- Ethereum
BetOnline Sportsbook Crypto Options
- Bitcoin
- Bitcoin Cash
- Litecoin
- Ethereum
- Cardano
- Stellar
- Ripple
- Chainlink
- Dogecoin
- Tether
- USD Coin
MyBookie Sportsbook Crypto Options
- Bitcoin
- Bitcoin Cash
- Litecoin
- Ethereum
- Ripple
Now, you can certainly use any of these options to make online gambling deposits and claim same-day payouts. You’ll even get the same boosted sports betting bonuses for doing so. These crypto sportsbook advantages are universal.
But again, each coin is different in terms of fees, speeds, and investment potential.
So to combat Bidenflation™ – and to turn your ever-more-worthless fiat money into assets of actual value and thus grow your wealth long after you’ve been paid out your political betting winnings – it’s important to pick the coin that gives you the best bang for your erstwhile buck.
One of the determinants will be the actual crypto menu offered by the site you join.
For example, if you join Bovada or MyBookie, you’re more limited in your selections. If you join BetOnline, however, you have more options. (You also get more election and political odds to choose from, but that’s a different discussion.)
Here’s how the different coins stack up against each other, including their current prices at the time of this writing, their percentage growth rates year over year (in parentheses), as well as their general native transfer times and crypto fees.
- Bitcoin (BTC) – $59,349.39 (347.2%), 30-60 minutes, high fees
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH) – $566.29 (110.92%), 20-40 minutes, moderate fees
- Litecoin (LTC) – $185.39 (232.60%), 10-15 minutes, low fees
- Ethereum (ETH) – $4027.30 (936.23%), 30-60 minutes, highest fees
- Cardano (ADA) – $1.99 (1910.51%), 5-10 minutes, low fees
- Stellar (XLM) – $0.3423 (335.55%), 2-3 minutes, lowest fees
- Ripple (XRP) – $1.03 (318.87%), 3-5 minutes, low fees
- Chainlink (LINK) – $29.72 (159.34%), 20-40 minutes, moderate fees
- Dogecoin (DOGE) – $0.252 (9610.98%), 30-60 minutes, moderate fees
- Tether (USDT) – $1.00 (0%), 15-20 minutes, moderate fees
- USD Coin (USDC) – $1.00 (0%), 15-20 minutes, moderate fees
As you can see above, Tether and USD Coin have experienced no growth at all, but that’s because these are actually stablecoins rather than typical cryptocurrencies. They are designed to be tied 1:1 to the US dollar and are used primarily as buffer mediums for active day traders.
You can make a deposit in USDT or USDC, but you should never request stable coin payouts. You want to withdraw in a crypto that gives you real investment possibilities.
For that, looking at the Y2Y growth rates, Dogecoin is the clear winner, but its momentum has petered out, and it has limited utility in the crypto ecosystem beyond its jokecoin/memecoin status.
It’s also somewhat costly and slow compared to other options.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin is the granddaddy of them all – the Donald Trump of crypto coins, as it were – and it’s shown reliable growth since its launch back in 2009. It’s a good choice, but it has among the slowest transfer times and highest transfer fees.
If you want to keep more of what you move into and out of your sportsbook, BTC is not necessarily the best option.
Ditto for Ethereum. Indeed, ETH “gas fees” are the highest in the industry, and its transfer times are similarly slow.
If speeds and fees are the primary considerations, we advise using Litecoin (Bovada), Cardano (BetOnline), Stellar (BetOnline), or Ripple (BetOnline, MyBookie).
LTC is supported by all books, which means line shoppers can just settle on one crypto asset and be covered no matter where they gamble, which is LTC’s main strength.
However, Stellar is the absolute least expensive crypto to use, with transfer fees hovering at around a tenth of a penny or so.
Ripple is a good choice, too, but very few US-based exchanges currently list XRP for sale (due to ongoing SEC litigation). The best place to buy Ripple for US gamblers is through the Atomic Wallet crypto exchange.
But LTC, XRP, and XLM don’t have anywhere near the investment upside that Cardano does.
ADA has grown by almost 2000% year-to-year, and there’s no end in sight. It’s considered to be Ethereum’s biggest rival, it’s fast and cheap to use, and you can even stake your ADA to earn Cardano passive income (i.e. free Cardano) from stake pools on the network once you collect your payouts.
If your bottom line is paramount, then, Cardano is the top choice.
But again, this only works if you gamble at BetOnline. If you’re a member anywhere else, Litecoin is our top pick.
And remember, no matter how you make your deposits – even if you use a wimpy old credit card to top off your bankroll in wimpier older USD – you can pull your winnings out in any crypto coin your site supports.
So don’t limit yourself. The more crypto you hodl, the better off you’ll be, and diversification is a big part of maximization.
Crypto is a lot like Pokémon and communists:
You’ve gotta catch ‘em all!