Steam is no longer accepting Bitcoin as a payment option. According to developer Valve, the virtual currency has become far too volatile; causing customers to be hit by high transaction fees.
This change in policy is due to the value of Bitcoin over the last couple of months, which could fluctuate by as much as 25% over the course of a day. The value changes enough from moment to moment that Steam itself was having trouble charging customers the correct amount.
Valve’s announcement read in part, “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.”
This is not to say that the company is completely abandoning Bitcoin as a whole. Instead, it looks to be a corrective measure until the virtual currency becomes more stable. It could be a long time before that happens, and may signal the start of a movement away from allowing BTC as a payment option.
That said, there are already calls from Steam users to adopt a different cryptocurrency. Proposals for Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash have appeared in the comments section of the announcement, although Valve does not appear to be considering replacing Bitcoin with anything at this moment.
[Source: Steam]
