Hashing it Out Episode 15: Kal Suurkask Speaks About Blockchain
In the fifteenth episode of CoinGeek’s Hashing it Out crypto series, the series’ host, Becky Liggero, traveled to the Esports Insider London and Betting on Sports Europe events. She moderated panels at both events and was happy to welcome Kal Suurkask as a speaker on both.
The Integrity Advantages of Blockchain
Suurkask is the chief commercial officer of the enterprise blockchain transaction processing company TAAL Distributed Information Technologies. In the episode, he spoke about how his company can benefit the iGaming sector through its blockchain and data management solutions.
Suurkask began by mentioning how blockchain technology and the Bitcoin SV blockchain, in particular, can provide irrefutable statistics of someone’s gambling habits and can therefore be used to mitigate gambling harm and maintain the integrity of iGaming.
Suurkask went on to explain the difference between storing information in a traditional database versus storing information on a blockchain. He pointed out that databases can easily get hacked or compromised, which isn’t quite the same when it comes to a robust blockchain. Suurkask explained:
“Imagine how you can take this data or a hash of that data and put it on a common ledger that can be shared with regulators. It can be pulled up anytime because it’s on an immutable ledger as well it is timestamped so you know when it happened, it’s verifiable and it’s open to the public.”
According to him, this opportunity is a true “game-changer” for many operators as it’s “getting ahead of some of the regulations” that will eventually come.
Another “game-changer” for Suurkask is how the BSV blockchain can be used for iGaming micropayments.
“Imagine now you can start betting a penny here or there on which way Tom Brady is going to look before he throws a football and then you can see it in real-time – in your wallet – and you see that one penny, two pennies, three pennies,” Suurkask pointed out.
It was also pointed out how this can improve affiliate marketing operations as referred customers’ history will be easily trackable through the blockchain. This way every time the customer pays, the affiliate will receive a share in real-time.
How CryptoFights Approaches Blockchain Solutions
Suurkask referred to CryptoFights as an example of how blockchain solutions are already revolutionizing the gaming and iGaming space.
CryptoFights is a play-to-earn game, developed by FYX Gaming. It previously used Ethereum but later changed to Bitcoin because of scalability and the cost problems related to ETH’s fees.
Suurkask spoke about how the blockchain enhances the experience. He explained that CryptoFights the BSV blockchain is something that is both a payment network and a data ledger.
“Every single move that their players do online is tracked on the blockchain so it can be audited, they can look for cheating, a number of really neat things,” he said.
As CryptoFights’ popularity grew, the game reached a point where it has more than a million daily transactions. This is where TAAL joined forces with the developers and has since been using its infrastructure tech to process all of the transactions.
Suurkask then explained that despite Ethereum being the most popular blockchain for gaming companies, its transaction fees often force developers to layer two solutions. However, a smarter move is moving to BSV where all can be done with a single layer.
TAAL and Its Own NFT Platform
Lastly, Suurkask spoke on TAAL’s own NFT platform called the STAS Token Protocol. It’s a layer one protocol with NFTs built off the Satoshi token. Suurkask explained that since it’s based on that first layer, the STAS Token Protocol has all of the attributes of that blockchain.
“It can scale, its low cost, there’s no third party that’s sitting there and governing it,” the CCO elaborated.
He once again referred to the security that such a solution provides, reminding us that blockchain data is immovable.
“So if that company that’s helping you build this token disappears, guess what? You can go and retrieve those tokens,” Suurkask said.
Yasmin is an iGaming and gaming journalist with over 10 years of writing about various publications. Her experience spans the entirety of iGaming, traditional sports, as well as online poker. She is well-versed in every aspect of online gaming and her wealth of knowledge provides additional substance to our coverage.
