Not long ago, cryptocurrency was dismissed by some as a quirky internet experiment. Now, it’s a trillion-dollar market that can swing the financial world overnight. Industries and investors treat crypto as a serious asset class – and some of the earliest believers were in places you might not expect. 

The current state of crypto as a well-established reality couldn’t have happened if certain industries hadn’t jumped on the train and adopted it as a new form of payment. And that’s natural because in the real world, things tend to move slowly. Business people are often afraid of new or radical changes, as it could cost them their business. Digital industries, however, turned out to be courageous enough to bet on the success of crypto. And yes, online casinos were among the first adopters.

Although gambling websites already had a large global user base, the adoption of crypto accelerated their growth. This holds true when we look at different countries. In Australia, for example, gaming sites moved quickly, and some established themselves as leaders in crypto gaming. Today, when you hear the name Joe Fortune crypto casino, it reflects how flexible gaming platforms leveraged digital currencies and branded themselves as crypto-based. But why did they do that?”

They did it because crypto has real perks in online commerce – especially in gambling. First, cryptocurrency ensures instant payments. If traditional casino withdrawals can take days of bank processing, Bitcoin payouts can finalize in as little as an hour. Second, crypto offers transparency and security: every transaction is recorded on a public blockchain, creating an audit trail that builds trust. It’s much harder to hide or falsify crypto transactions, which boosts confidence for both players and operators. Third, there’s an element of privacy and accessibility. Cryptocurrencies provide anonymity and allow access for the unbanked or those in regions where gambling transactions might be blocked by banks. By removing middlemen and many fees, crypto also lowers costs – which online casinos can pass on through better odds or bonuses.

A New Investment Landscape Needs a New Mindset

It’s not just casinos that need to adapt – everyday investors and savers do, too. The financial playbook our parents followed doesn’t always apply in 2025. Consider this: a generation ago, you might park your money in a savings account and earn decent interest. After years of low interest rates, that strategy barely beats inflation. The result is a whole new investing environment – and thriving in it requires a new mindset. Unfortunately, trying to step out of the line drawn by previous generations looks a lot like what a cyclist experiences in this funny but very true clip:

To illustrate the differences, let’s compare some old-school money advice with today’s reality:

Money Advice Then and Now

As the table shows, almost every pillar of financial wisdom has shifted. Even something as solid as real estate is being viewed through a new lens. Take buying a house: traditionally it was a no-brainer investment. But with widespread remote work, people are reconsidering what makes a house valuable. For instance, if you can work from anywhere, you might prioritize a home with a spare room for a home office, good natural lighting, and a big backyard over one that’s a short commute from a city office. In fact, many remote-working homebuyers now insist on properties with dedicated office space, decent outdoor areas, and reliable internet – the days of tolerating a tiny, cramped apartment are fading. 

Location still matters, but in a different way – some are moving out of expensive city centers to regional areas for more space and better lifestyle. Globally, we see similar patterns. Over one-third of Australians were working from home in 2023 (about 5% higher than pre-pandemic levels), and that flexibility changes how people invest in homes and communities. 

Why Financial Literacy Isn’t Optional Anymore

All these changes point to one thing: financial literacy is no longer a “nice to have” – it’s a must-have life skill. Managing a budget and understanding interest rates is still critical, but now we’ve also got to grasp things like how to use a digital wallet, what a smart contract is, or how to spot a scam text claiming to be your bank. The world is going cashless – as of 2024, about 75% of adults worldwide have used some form of digital payment – and financial knowledge has to keep up with that pace. You might never have thought you’d need to understand blockchain or evaluate an online gig’s payment terms, but here we are.

The challenge is that our collective financial literacy hasn’t caught up. Consider some numbers: globally, only 33% of adults are financially literate by standard measures. That means two out of three people cannot answer basic questions on inflation, interest, and risk. Even in wealthy countries, there’s work to do. In the United States, financial literacy has hovered around ~50% for years. Australia stands out with about 64% of adults financially literate – one of the highest rates in the world – yet that still implies over a third of Australians lack essential money skills. And “essential” is not an exaggeration: experts warn that low financial literacy leaves people more economically vulnerable and less able to handle shocks.