Connections between the gaming industry and cryptocurrencies have become a lot more apparent over the years. It seems there is a bright future ahead for both industries, although the bonds between gaming and cryptocurrency are still relatively loose. StreamLabs is changing that by incorporating cryptocurrency donations into its product.
Cryptocurrency Donations on Twitch
One has to commend the StreamLabs team for taking a gamble by introducing support for cryptocurrency donations. There is a risk associated with introducing cryptocurrency support, even though it doesn’t cost any money or much effort to integrate such currencies. Whether or not this venture will prove successful remains to be seen.
To put all of this into perspective, StreamLabs is a very powerful platform in the world of video streaming. While most people may know it from its use on the Twitch platform, StreamLabs is also used on other platforms such as YouTube Live. It offers a complete package for anyone looking to get into the streaming industry these days, and it also allows streamers to receive donations in a convenient manner.
By adding cryptocurrency donations to its offerings, StreamLabs is embarking on a rather interesting course. While it is true that cryptocurrencies have become a lot more appealing to the mainstream since mid-2017, their volatility is still considered to be a nuisance at best. Even so, consumers enjoy exposure to various cryptocurrencies.
Additionally, one has to keep in mind that most people view Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others as investment vehicles first and foremost. They are hardly used as proper currencies, although that situation will come to change with the help of StreamLabs. By adding support for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash, donating cryptocurrency to Twitch streamers can be done in real-time without any friction. It is still up to individual streamers to enable these options, though.
It is not the first time cryptocurrency donations have come to the Twitch ecosystem either. Up until now, it was possible to achieve a similar goal by using 1UpCoin, which is a third-party solution. That particular solution has support for Nano, and also supports StreamElements for anyone who isn’t using StreamLabs at this time. Competing solutions are always a good thing, for rather obvious reasons.
Whether or not this will be a significant driver of cryptocurrency adoption remains to be determined. It is another notch in the belt for the supported currencies, as they all struggle for traction when it comes to being used as proper currencies. Initiatives like these can potentially expose a lot more people to cryptocurrency, assuming enough streamers decide to enable this option.