The game company and distributor, Valve, announced that Steam will no longer accept bitcoin as a payment method

The company explained its decision by saying that the cryptocurrency’s “high fees and volatility” were the main reason behind it. It further explained that bitcoin transaction fees have reached $20 per transaction last week, in comparison with “roughly $0.20 when we initially enabled Bitcoin.” These are fees that need to be shouldered by gamers who make purchases on Steam, and the total cost to consumers might be even higher if the value of bitcoin dips in the meantime.

However, even if the value of bitcoin was to go up while the user completes a transaction, and Steam has to refund the difference to the user, the fee must be paid by the user again for the refund.

“This year, we’ve seen increasing number[s] of customers get into this state,” Steam’s post said

Things can get even more complicated than that, as it can happen that while the user or Steam tries to cover the difference in value, the value of bitcoin then changes again, leading to even more problems.

At the same time, Steam declared that it could reconsider the decision in the future if the currency becomes more stable; however, for now, the company is only working with customers who are still dealing with underpayments or transaction fees.

Source: theverge.com