Steam is no longer supporting Bitcoin

[wombat666]

Why am I not surprised?

As of today, Steam will no longer support Bitcoin as a payment method on our platform due to high fees and volatility in the value of Bitcoin.

In the past few months we've seen an increase in the volatility in the value of Bitcoin and a significant increase in the fees to process transactions on the Bitcoin network. For example, transaction fees that are charged to the customer by the Bitcoin network have skyrocketed this year, topping out at close to $20 a transaction last week (compared to roughly $0.20 when we initially enabled Bitcoin). Unfortunately, Valve has no control over the amount of the fee. These fees result in unreasonably high costs for purchasing games when paying with Bitcoin. The high transaction fees cause even greater problems when the value of Bitcoin itself drops dramatically.

Historically, the value of Bitcoin has been volatile, but the degree of volatility has become extreme in the last few months, losing as much as 25% in value over a period of days. This creates a problem for customers trying to purchase games with Bitcoin. When checking out on Steam, a customer will transfer x amount of Bitcoin for the cost of the game, plus y amount of Bitcoin to cover the transaction fee charged by the Bitcoin network. The value of Bitcoin is only guaranteed for a certain period of time so if the transaction doesn’t complete within that window of time, then the amount of Bitcoin needed to cover the transaction can change. The amount it can change has been increasing recently to a point where it can be significantly different.

The normal resolution for this is to either refund the original payment to the user, or ask the user to transfer additional funds to cover the remaining balance. In both these cases, the user is hit with the Bitcoin network transaction fee again. This year, we’ve seen increasing number of customers get into this state. With the transaction fee being so high right now, it is not feasible to refund or ask the customer to transfer the missing balance (which itself runs the risk of underpayment again, depending on how much the value of Bitcoin changes while the Bitcoin network processes the additional transfer).

At this point, it has become untenable to support Bitcoin as a payment option. We may re-evaluate whether Bitcoin makes sense for us and for the Steam community at a later date.

We will continue working to resolve any pending issues for customers who are impacted by existing underpayments or transaction fees.

-- The Steam Team

[n4gix]

As far as I can determine, "Bitcoin" was only valuable as an investment vehicle over a long term. I use the past tense "was" because it has now become far too expensive for easy entré into the market.

See: https://www.investopedia.com/article...coins-2011.asp

For example, for a modest investment of only $100 at the beginning of 2011, as of November 28, 2017 it was worth $3,773,758.93...

I wish that I had known this back in 2011!!!

2017: All-Time Highs, And Still Soaring

In February, Bitcoin broke its 2013 record and hit the $1169.04 mark (per Coinbase's price index). It hit other milestones as well, surpassing for the first time the price of one Troy ounce of gold. On May 2, it surged again to $1448. Since May it has continued to climb surpassing price milestones quickly. On November 28, it crossed the $10,000 mark and less than 24 hours later it was trading above $11,000. As of 14:18 UTC on November 29, bitcoin was trading at $11,321.39 valuing the investment at $3,773,758.93.


Read more: If You Had Purchased $100 of Bitcoin in 2011 | Investopedia https://www.investopedia.com/article...#ixzz50asDb1zL
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[Lonewolfee1]

Yes but could you sell it and get your almost $4 Million out of it? Just wondering. I never dabbled in it.

[n4gix]

Yes but could you sell it and get your almost $4 Million out of it? Just wondering. I never dabbled in it.

Actually one can sell Bitcoins for USD (or Yen, Rubles, whatever) providing one can find a buyer with enough cash! Might have to discount it slightly to gain a sale though. Let the new owner perceive a bit of profit in the transaction.

[rhumbaflappy]

For example, for a modest investment of only $100 at the beginning of 2011, as of November 28, 2017 it was worth $3,773,758.93...

I wish that I had known this back in 2011!!!

Darn it! Windows 10 upgrade wrecked my wayback machine again. Stupid operating system!

[stansdds]

Actually one can sell Bitcoins for USD (or Yen, Rubles, whatever) providing one can find a buyer with enough cash! Might have to discount it slightly to gain a sale though. Let the new owner perceive a bit of profit in the transaction.

I think therein lies the rub. Finding someone who is willing to trade physical money for vapor money.

[scotth6]

There are no shortage of stock brokers etc taking advantage of this current boom in crypto currency, so selling it would not be a problem atm. Anyone could sell it to a trader who could sell it to thousands or millions of people looking to buy currently. I am hearing stories of computer systems straining under the weight of overwhelming numbers of bitcoin purchasers, I have heard many stories of bitcoin users becoming millionaires and even billionaires. I have also heard many stories of undoubtedly depressed people who threw out or lost hard drives containing millions of dollars worth of bitcoin.

I do find the whole thing really perplexing. It was designed to be a digital currency, and it has become anything but. It is now very expensive, very slow, and pretty much useless as a digital peer to peer currency. Now it is just a trading instrument, and there are also hundreds of new crypto currencies emerging. These new crypto currencies are already becoming stock trading instruments before they have even been used as an actual currency.

There are so many trying to jump on the bandwagon right now, but the users who had bitcoin years ago when it was being used as an actual currency are the lucky ones who have benefited. Right place, right time.