The rise of cryptocurrency within sports and casino betting has been exponential in recent years. Whilst the integration of crypto onto casino platforms is still a developing concept, it’s one that provides the industry with huge potential.

As a key figure behind the formation of the industry body, aimed at better informing the industry about the details of cryptocurrency, John Caldwell, Director of Advocacy for the Double C Foundation, spoke to TotallyGaming.com about ICE VOX 2018 and how he believes crypto can evolve into the mainstream.

TotallyGaming: CasinoCoin recently moved onto a new blockchain; can you detail some of the ways this has benefited the currency?

John Caldwell: Where do I start? The move to the new blockchain was simply a necessity. The original CasinoCoin was a very early ‘alt coin’, and was built on old technology. Being on our own blockchain, powered by a modified version of the Ripple code was key. Ripple is a crypto which has received institutional support from many of the world’s leading banks. It features vastly superior transaction speeds, low transaction costs, and the network is decentralised, yet still controllable.

Being able to start anew also enables us to trace every transaction back to the genesis block - so every transaction is viewable, but in a practical way. We’ve built a custom block explorer that makes it easier and simpler to trace the path of coins. That is a popular feature with most regulators.

We also have some cool made-for-gaming features that will make the customer on boarding process smoother than ever, and yet give operators comfort that all the appropriate checks have been performed on the customer that just landed in their system.

Things like the ability to store additional information within a single transaction on the blockchain will give us flexibility to give operators types of information not possible in current solutions.

TG: What can be done to expand the audience of cryptocurrency to further regulated markets?

JC: Time. Education. This is not unlike the early days of the internet and the education that was needed there. Crypto got a bad name early - and deserved it, and people who are naturally distrusting of technology and have heard about the early days of crypto will naturally be distrustful and reticent.

Crypto is a vastly better way to carry out many of the transactions that exist today. That’s an argument I know I can win if people will listen. I can send an operator anywhere in the world 1,000 CasinoCoin in less than 5 seconds, for less than five pence in fees for myself and for the operator, and have the operator know exactly who I am in a matter of seconds. That may seem like a crazy statement. I need to show people how it works and get them to believe. This will take time.

The irony here is that crypto is designed for transparency, and it’s designed to be more recordable and more verifiable than other types of currency, but in the early days of crypto, it wasn’t used like that. This has created some perceptions that are, in my opinion, outdated. I would argue that most of the uses these days are quite open - and that’s only going to continue to increase as the industry matures.

TG: How important is it that cryptocurrencies continue to work with and maintain a strong rapport with both operators and regulators, in order to grow further into the mainstream?

JC: Hugely important. We approached this from day one as ‘how do we make the customer experience world class in both speed and service, and yet provide all the transparency and function that operators and regulators need’?

From moment one, we’ve only been interested in licensed operators in regulated markets. Some regulators, while naturally sceptical have been pleasantly surprised when we show up with a ‘how can we help?’ attitude. We’re not looking to put one over on anyone. I’ve spent hundreds of hours in 2017 educating key people from the regulatory and operator worlds. My mantra has always been ‘Call me. I’m here for you’.

We’ve gotten a little lucky in recent months as the broader societal narrative around crypto has sent some people our way who probably threw my card away when I gave it to them months ago. That’s OK with me. I’m still here for them. (laughs).

TG: Can you explain the importance of the partnership between CasinoCoin and the Double C foundation been in the progress of CasinoCoin?

JC: The Foundation, like the new blockchain, is a necessity for CasinoCoin. Most big cryptos (Bitcoin, Ethereum) have Foundations that provide governance, marketing and technological development for the coin. Our Foundation also has a directive to provide education on not only CasinoCoin, but crypto in general. As mentioned, I’ve spent a lot of time on that.

TG: CasinoCoin and the Double C foundation will be at the upcoming ICE VOX Conference, could you reveal further what you hope to achieve at ICE and why the conference is so important?

JC: There aren’t too many chances each year to get access to the percentage of people in the gaming industry that you can at ICE. This will be our first chance to show loads of people what CasinoCoin is about, how it functions, and who we are as an organisation.

People are naturally sceptical, but for us ICE is about “Look, here’s who we are. We’re real people with good intentions, and relevant, credible backgrounds, that are trying to bring something to gaming that we think will be a huge improvement”. Hopefully we can convince at least a few to believe in what we’re doing and come along for the ride.

John Caldwell, will be further analysing the continued development of crypto at ICE VOX 2018, on a panel titled 'Harnessing a Hybrid Solution: Applications of Blockchain for Traditional Online Operators'.