For Bitcoin enthusiasts, spending the world’s leading cryptocurrency is not all that easy. Some major platforms enabled Bitcoin payment support in the past, although some removed it as well. One of the latest companies to disable BTC transactions is Steam. This news comes about a year and a half after initially integrating this payment option. It is a troubling development, but nothing unexpected either.
As one would expect, Bitcoin and Steam was not a happy marriage. Although initially introduced in April of 2016, the relationship has ended abruptly. It is very cumbersome to deal with Bitcoin transactions, even with a merchant on board to reduce price volatility. According to Steam, the mounting transaction costs are the biggest problem. We have seen a lot of issues regarding Bitcoin transaction fees throughout all of 20017. So far, no solution has been found to alleviate said concerns.
Steam Drops Bitcoin Support
Additionally, Steam parent company Valve claims the Bitcoin price volatility is still a problem. Prices for games can differ quite a lot on a day-to-day basis. Especially with the current price gains, these fluctuations become even more apparent. This has always been one big downside to the world’s leading cryptocurrency. Bitcoin will never be suitable for such transactions unless some new features are introduced.
Steam claims they paid around $20 in transaction fees to process a regular payment. This is 100 times as much as when the company began accepting BTC. While such high fees are not normal, it is difficult to justify Bitcoin payments as a company. Removing this payment option is the only logical course of action. It will displace a lot of Bitcoin users, though, but it is the hand we are dealt right now.
With this company bailing on Bitcoin, a troublesome situation is created. More and more companies drop support for the world’s leading cryptocurrency. Again, this is only to be expected at this time. Bitcoin isn’t usable for small payments or any payments for that matter. It is too expensive and too volatile to use. More companies will drop support unless the fee situation is addressed properly. Steam may eventually enable Bitcoin payments in the future, though. For now, the option isn’t available and it will remain that way.
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