Steam is about to start accepting Bitcoin payments

[midian182]

Steam is about to become the latest service to accept Bitcoins as a means of payment. The news comes via a post from the platform's private developer forums, which was republished on Reddit. There’s no exact word on when the system will be implemented, but it looks as if it’ll arrive soon.

"We are excited to announce that Steam is going to start accepting payments via bitcoin," it reads. "We’re using an external payment provider to process Bitcoin payments to help partners reach more customers on Steam. Bitcoin is becoming an increasingly popular online payment method in some countries, and we’re enabling a system that insulates partners from risk and volatility while still providing value to the end customer."

That external payment provider Valve mentions is thought to be BitPay, Inc; users recently discovered payment code in Steam that referred to the Bitcoin payment processor.

Bitcoin payments are coming soon to Steam, they will use the local currency prices and convert during checkout. pic.twitter.com/zSZ3ueVIEU

— Steam Database (@SteamDB) April 21, 2016

The system will charge Steam users the price of the game based on their region. This is then passed on to the external payment provider, which will convert the Bitcoin back to local currency based on the daily exchange rate and pay Valve. "At no time does Valve receive or hold Bitcoin," the announcement states.

Valve added that no action will be required on the part of developers. "There is no need to set a bitcoin price or keep track of Bitcoin valuation. The purchase price of your product does not change."

The announcement comes despite comments made on Reddit by Gabe Newell two years ago; the Valve chief expressed concerns over the stability of cryptocurrencies when asked if Steam would ever support them.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/64538-steam-about-start-accepting-bitcoin-payments.html

 

[SirDigby]

Yay, now all the criminals will start buying games and selling them on to launder money.

 

[Jack Meoffski]

https://www.techspot.com/news/63315-bitcoin-crowned-best-performing-currency-2015.html

 

[alabama man]

Yay, now all the criminals will start buying games and selling them on to launder money.

They do it already and after this it's even easier. Good for me though, I will get games even cheaper. You can buy brand new aaa games for 30$ and under, how else is that possible? Even with currency manipulation and tax free I can't get games that cheap, only from "gray" market.

 

[Uncle Al]

Admittedly I know very little about the bit coin but I was under the impression they had an assigned value, per coin, that was at or near $1,000 these days???? Do they give change? Or does the individual have to buy that equivalent in games?

 

[Shobi]

Admittedly I know very little about the bit coin but I was under the impression they had an assigned value, per coin, that was at or near $1,000 these days???? Do they give change? Or does the individual have to buy that equivalent in games?

That's a digital coin, not a hard coin. Bitcoins can be spent in fractions, so there's no need for change as they can be divided into whatever amount is required for any given transaction.

 

[Uncle Al]

That's a digital coin, not a hard coin. Bitcoins can be spent in fractions, so there's no need for change as they can be divided into whatever amount is required for any given transaction.

Thanks .... I assumed that but did not know and I see the coin is currently valued at $447.05 so it does fluctuate just like any currency ....

 

[Puiu]

Forget about bitcoins. the biggest news is the prime accounts for cs:go.

 

[BSim500]

In my experience, those who understand Bitcoin the least tend to be its most vocal advocates who are "big on tech, cr*p on economics"...

"This is then passed on to the external payment provider, which will convert the Bitcoin back to local currency based on the daily exchange rate and pay Valve. "At no time does Valve receive or hold Bitcoin," the announcement states."

^ There's a very good reason why Steam (and most others who claim to "accept" Bitcoin) continue to price things up in USD/EUR, etc, then only accept Dollar / Euro equivalents in Bitcoins within a very short transactional time-frame, then rapidly dump those Bitcoins (without really "holding" them) in favor of rebuying local currencies as fast as possible afterwards. The way Bitcoin is used makes it more of a glorified internet prepay card trying to compete more with intermediate payment methods like credit cards and Paypal (offering lower fees but also much lower (if any) protection against scammers) rather than a serious "currency" in itself.

 

[GreenArrow]

Admittedly I know very little about the bit coin but I was under the impression they had an assigned value, per coin, that was at or near $1,000 these days???? Do they give change? Or does the individual have to buy that equivalent in games?

0.01 BTC = 1 cBTC = 1 centibitcoin (also referred to as bitcent)
0.001 BTC = 1 mBTC = 1 millibitcoin (also referred to as mbit (pronounced em-bit) or millibit or even bitmill)
0.000 001 BTC = 1 μBTC = 1 microbitcoin (also referred to as ubit (pronounced yu-bit) or microbit)

A Satoshi is the smallest fraction of a Bitcoin that can currently be sent: 0.000 000 01 BTC, that is, a hundredth of a millionth BTC

 

[Camikazi]

In my experience, those who understand Bitcoin the least tend to be its most vocal advocates who are "big on tech, cr*p on economics"...

"This is then passed on to the external payment provider, which will convert the Bitcoin back to local currency based on the daily exchange rate and pay Valve. "At no time does Valve receive or hold Bitcoin," the announcement states."

^ There's a very good reason why Steam (and most others who claim to "accept" Bitcoin) continue to price things up in USD/EUR, etc, then only accept Dollar / Euro equivalents in Bitcoins within a very short transactional time-frame, then rapidly dump those Bitcoins (without really "holding" them) in favor of rebuying local currencies as fast as possible afterwards. The way Bitcoin is used makes it more of a glorified internet prepay card trying to compete more with intermediate payment methods like credit cards and Paypal (offering lower fees but also much lower (if any) protection against scammers) rather than a serious "currency" in itself.

Steam uses it exactly how I would if I were a seller, take it for payment but get rid of it for a more stable currency as fast as possible since if you hold onto it it could lose value costing you money. I am almost positive that most sellers who take bitcoin do the same thing because keeping them is just not good business, the chance of money loss is too big.

 

[DaveBG]

Now the bitcoin deniers will be pulling their hair even more.

 

[simondarkprince]

I'm waiting for the time when it will be possible to pay with Bitcoin everywhere, now there is a limited number of stores that accept cryptocurrency as payments, and they do this via payment gateways like Bitpay or NOWPayments.

 

[Endymio]

https://www.techspot.com/news/63315-bitcoin-crowned-best-performing-currency-2015.html

The entire premise of that article is ludicrous. For a currency, gaining value precipitously is just as bad as losing it. Currencies are useful when they are stable value stores. Imagine taking out a five-year loan in bitcoins, then having to repay ten times the amount because its value skyrocketed.

 

[simondarkprince]

But national currencies are also very prone to price fluctuations – inflation, falling solvency, and much more

 

[Endymio]

But national currencies are also very prone to price fluctuations – inflation, falling solvency, and much more

And their usefulness as a currency suffers when they do so. Take a look at any nation which has experienced hyperinflation -- to the maximum extent possible, people stop using the currency altogether.

 

[simondarkprince]

And their usefulness as a currency suffers when they do so. Take a look at any nation which has experienced hyperinflation -- to the maximum extent possible, people stop using the currency altogether.

What's about Latin Americans who move to digital currencies to save their money?

«Latin Americans have embraced cryptocurrency as a store of value while their fiat currencies depreciate, a new report shows. Bitcoin adoption in the region is further driven by the lack of banking access and remittance needs.S»

 

[Endymio]

What's about Latin Americans who move to digital currencies to save their money?

You're making my point for me. They're moving because of the instability in their own currencies. Stability is relative: Bitcoin is far less stable than most fiat currencies, but it's better than the Venezuelan bolivar. Venezuelans would prefer the US dollar to any crypto currency, but their government prevents that to the maximum extent possible.