Safe to Withdraw Funds Now? Bitcoin Stabilizes a Bit Wednesday

Crazy price fluctuations with Bitcoin resulted in a tough week for withdrawing winnings from online gambling sites.

PayPerHead.com Offering Great Opportunities for Bookies, Agents to Use Crypto Here

The price of Bitcoin fell dramatically the middle of last week from around $6400 to around $5400 then again Monday below $5000 and all the way down to near $4000. 

By Wednesday afternoon the price hovered between $4300 and $4600 but with just a 1 to 3 percent change over the past 24 hours.

For those who bet online using Bitcoin, there wasn't much value requesting withdrawals over the past seven days due to the volatile price fluctuations.  Bitcoin now represents upwards of 70% of all online gambling transactions for many companies in the space.  Much of the allure of Bitcoin not only centers on the fast payouts and anonymity, but also the low fees.

“Hope this doesn’t continue," one player said of the past couple of days experience requesting a Bitcoin payout. "I can’t afford to lose 6-7% per transaction.”

Due to the rapid change in price these past few days, mostly on the downward path, gamblers have often times had to endure painful costs even when transferring immediately from one's secure wallet via an exchange directly to their bank account. 

While receipt of Bitcoin payouts typically takes just a few hours with many online gambling sites (BetOnline advertises within an hour during "normal" periods and upwards of 48 hours), the process of getting Bitcoin converted into US Dollars or another currency and into one's bank can sometimes take upwards of two hours.  On a normal day, this does not present much of an issue.  The past seven days have been anything but normal in the world of cryptocurrencies due to concerns over a regulatory crackdown with Ether as well as a recent hard fork involving Bitcoin Cash (not to be confused with Bitcoin).

When Bitcoin is sent to an exchange, there are upwards of six mining confirmations needed in the blockchain.  This can take up to an hour.  Once your Bitcoin payout reaches the exchange, the conversion (or sell) process will sometimes take another hour (maybe longer) during especially unstable periods of price fluctuations.  The good news is that, once your Bitcoin is converted to US Dollars or other currency within the exchange, it is no longer subject to the price changes. 

As of Wednesday 1:15 pm EST, the price of Bitcoin was coming in at $4430 with approximate shifts of $100 in either direction.  Such price changes will have little affect on one's payout beyond a few dollars lost or gained during the conversion process. 

When Not to Request a Payout

Money sitting in your sports betting or online casino account is not subject to Bitcoin price fluctuations.  Monitor the Coinbase Pro price tracker and hold off on withdrawing when the price is moving rapidly.  The giveaway here is constant numbers flashing in red and green. 

Wild Week But There is Some Reason for Hope

As someone requesting funds via Bitcoin, the value of said funds is subject to investor activity similar to the stock market.  Unless you opt to invest some of your winnings into such an investment, the only impact would be during the payout and conversion process, typically a two to four hour period of time. 

It probably makes sense for gamblers to maintain a small portion of their winnings in a secure Bitcoin wallet when the price is so low now, especially when 2018 is coming to a close.  Funds maintained in a wallet are not subject to taxation until they hit one's exchange and or bank account.

Investing in Bitcoin is not for the faint of heart, but over any given two-year period holders have been rewarded, CryptoOracle's Lou Kerner tells CNBC.com.

"If you go back to the Internet bubble, which is what a lot of us in crypto look at for direction, Amazon, arguably one of the greatest companies in the history of the mankind, was down over 95 percent over two years."

Kerner: Bitcoin is the greatest stored value ever created from CNBC.

Fast forward, Amazon in September 2018 became the second U.S. company to eclipse a stock market value of more than $1 trillion.

"Crypto has been so weak because most of it there's no underlying value outside of confidence," Kerner said. "[But] bitcoin, itself, we think is going to replace gold eventually. Gold is an $8 trillion thing."

"I think it's a store of value. I think it's the greatest store of value ever created," he added. "It should surpass gold over time. It won't happen overnight."

There is also a need for Bitcoin as the traditional banking sector continues to frown upon industries once considered taboo that society has suddenly begun embracing, specifically online gambling and marijuana come to mind.

Back in May, the U.S. Supreme Court abolished decades long prohibition of sports wagering while more states continue legalizing pot either for medicinal or recreational purposes. 

For both sports betting and marijuana, payment via bank issued credit cards has proven to be especially difficult in many cases.  Bitcoin is now transforming the payment process.

Likewise, Bitcoin makes it much easier for folks throughout the world to gamble online even in the most restrictive regions.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com