With so many different cryptos to choose from when it comes to legal online sports betting, it can be difficult to know which one gives you the best bang for your buck.
We’ve talked about this in the past, breaking down the different factors you might consider when making your decision.
Back in August of 2021, we wrote that our primary choice for online crypto gambling was Litecoin (LTC). While Litecoin wasn’t the best all-around crypto by every metric, it was the fastest and cheapest option available at every major online betting site at the time.
This universality – along with the fact that the LTC price hasn’t seen catastrophic collapses in a good long while – made it an easy choice.
But again, it was (and remains) a safe choice.
If you’re less interested in a coin’s multi-site versatility and are willing to join multiple online sportsbooks or base your membership decisions on whether or not a particular site supports a truly compelling coin, then LTC probably won’t be your top choice.
To that end, we wrote that Cardano (ADA) might be the best option. Cardano sports betting, after all, allows you to enjoy high-value buy-ins (especially considering the ADA price during this current dip), rapid transfers, same-day payouts, and staking options for serious ADA rewards.
But then, of course, Solana – 2021’s sweetheart crypto – hit the scene, muddying the waters.
With Solana (SOL) sports betting, you get all the same benefits as ADA sports betting, with the added bonus of riding a big wave of hype to potentially huge short-term gains.
But we’re starting to see that new hotnesses don’t stay hot for too long. At least, the hypecoin du jour is only the hypecoin du jour pour la journée.
Cardano, Solana, and similar assets promise to stay the course and be viable long-term crypto betting options and investment-grade coins, but some new thing is always just around the bend to steal the last new thing’s thunder.
Latest case in point: ApeCoin (APE).
We talked at length about ApeCoin sports betting when the coin was initially teased by BetOnline, and we talked about it some more in our legal ApeCoin sportsbooks guide.
But as with all other cryptocurrency gambling options, there are pros and cons to using APE to bet online, and those benefits and detriments might not always be so clear.
The biggest thing is that all crypto gambling use cases – while remaining ever the same (i.e. letting you avoid the meddlesome UIGEA law, get enhanced crypto sports betting bonuses, claim same-day payouts, and hodl/stake your winnings to earn free crypto rewards and retire by 40) – seem to shift a bit in comparison with other options every time a new coin hits a given site’s crypto betting menu.
So, to make things easy, here’s a ranked list of what we recommend using at every top-rated legal online sportsbook as of right now. (These lists will obviously change going forward, with one major caveat: When in doubt, just use Bitcoin. Bitcoin sports betting is always a safe bet.)
Bovada Sportsbook – Top 3 Crypto Coins Ranked
- Bitcoin BTC
- Ethereum ETH
- Litecoin LTC
Bovada is our number-one overall online sportsbook, but they don’t actually have a particularly compelling crypto banking suite outside of the heaviest hitters. So those are what we’ve chosen, in order of their current market caps (and excepting stablecoins like Tether).
Litecoin generally outperforms Bitcoin Cash (BCH), which is why it – and not BCH – gets the nod, here.
MyBookie Sportsbook – Top 3 Crypto Coins
- Bitcoin BTC
- Ethereum ETH
- Ripple XRP
MyBookie has a small selection of cryptos, so the standard fare is going to get top billing. Here, Bitcoin is king, while Ethereum – though slower and more expensive to use than any other coin – is the best non-BTC option thanks to its overall stability and staying power.
We’re taking XRP over LTC at MyBookie simply because XRP is a top-10 crypto with a much higher market cap and – probably – slightly better investment potential.
BetOnline Sportsbook – Top 3 Crypto Coins
- Cardano ADA
- Solana SOL
- Avalanche AVAX
All three of these cryptocurrencies are third-generation Proof-of-Stake coins that transfer almost instantly, have no meaningful crypto blockchain fees to worry about, and allow you to delegate your winnings to earn free crypto in perpetuity.
They also support smart contracts and essentially set the table for what’s expected out of world-leading cryptos going forward.
BetUS Sportsbook* – Top 3 Crypto Coins
- Bitcoin BTC
- Ethereum ETH
- Litecoin LTC
BetUS’ crypto selection is pretty basic, so we’re using the same rationale we employed in selecting the top coins to gamble with at Bovada LV (see above).
*If he were still alive, we like to think Wilford Brimley would be the perfect in-your-face, ride or die BetUS spokesman. So you got BetUS? Call your bookie and place some crypto bets. There’s just no reason not to.
Xbet Sportsbook – Top 3 Crypto Coins
- Bitcoin BTC
- Ethereum ETH
- Ripple XRP
As a sister site of MyBookie, Xbet AG’s cryptocurrency banking menu is the same as you’ll get when you gamble with its bigger sibling. Therefore, our choices are the same, too.
SportsBetting AG Sportsbook – Top 3 Crypto Coins
- Cardano ADA
- Solana SOL
- Avalanche AVAX
As with sister site BetOnline, SportsBetting Sportsbook has 15+ different cryptocurrency bet funding options. Our top three cryptocurrency betting options here are the same as at BOL, and for the same reasons.
