The rising valuations of crypto-currency, especially Bitcoin, have left investors, speculators, and plain-old hodlers dancing with glee. But there's one group of Bitcoiners who aren't being well served during the current price run-up: online poker fans who play at sites that denominate games in the digital coin. Several factors related to this skyrocketing price have converged to make Bitcoin poker no longer as easy or profitable as it once was.
Unlike most standard internet poker rooms, which conduct gameplay in USD or some other fiat currency, there are a few that aim to cater to crypto enthusiasts by denominating their games in fractions of a Bitcoin. Allowing their users to play directly in the virtual currency without having to worry about converting back and forth into other forms of money. (READ SO: OVER 60 CRYPTOCURRENCIES ACCEPTED FOR POKER PAYMENTS)
But those sites that work enterly with crypto-currencies are having some issues like the High Transaction Fees.
An enhanced awareness of Bitcoin among the public at large has been one of the major drivers in the growth of the crypto-currency, but this same factor has led to serious network congestion.
Miners fees, which must be paid to keep transaction timeframes reasonable, have surged to unprecedented levels.
The average fee used to be just a few pennies a couple of years ago, but lately, Bitcoiners have had to pay as much as $20 each time they wish to deposit money to play poker. Importantly, the miners fees are relatively independent of transaction sizes.
Therefore, someone wishing to make a test deposit of $20 to try out the system could have to fork over an additional $20 just to get the money onsite in a timely way.
