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Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

blog.bitpay.com

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Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#12

Post by StavrosK »

I was really surprised that the announcement that Steam may support Bitcoin made waves a while ago, yet the announcement that it actually does did not.

I used it to buy a (horrible) game last night, and it worked beautifully. Contrast with PayPal, with which Steam is always confused about where I am and whether it should charge me in GBP or EUR. I'm never not using Bitcoin again.

Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#15

Post by wslh »

j-pb wrote: post #3

Seems like bitcoin won't die after all, which is a pitty. It's become a centralised mess controlled by a few ASIC producers. Worst part is that it continues eating it's own children, as long as bitcoin is there, no other crypto currency will gain widespread adoption.

Bitcoin is the natural currency of the deep web not a replacement of the finance sector.

It doesn't matter if it dies or not while the users of these technologies [slowly] grow and new innovations appear. Currently Bitcoin is the leader but the core concepts around cryptocurrencies/blockchain are the most important part.

Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#16

Post by wcoenen »

j-pb wrote: post #3

Seems like bitcoin won't die after all, which is a pitty. It's become a centralised mess controlled by a few ASIC producers. Worst part is that it continues eating it's own children, as long as bitcoin is there, no other crypto currency will gain widespread adoption.

There is talk that the playing field will become more level now that the ASICs have catched up with 14 nanometer process technology. Mining equipment should no longer become obsolete every few months.

Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#17

Post by 07d046 »

VMG wrote: post #4
j-pb wrote: post #3

Seems like bitcoin won't die after all, which is a pitty. It's become a centralised mess controlled by a few ASIC producers. Worst part is that it continues eating it's own children, as long as bitcoin is there, no other crypto currency will gain widespread adoption.

It's doing pretty well actually. It's still less centralized as all viable alternatives.

Aren't there a small group of people who essentially control all of Bitcoin with no oversight? There might be a group of 30 very wealthy early adopters, miners, main developers, people who own the communication channels, and other influencers, who have 90% of the influence in what happens with Bitcoin. Real currencies can't boast to being that centralised.

Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#18

Post by flatline »

VMG wrote: post #14
richardwhiuk wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Normal currency which is both less centralized and easier to use.

With "normal" currencies you mean the ones issued by central banks?

Issuance may be centralized but the payment network, not so much.

Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#19

Post by VMG »

07d046 wrote: post #17
VMG wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's doing pretty well actually. It's still less centralized as all viable alternatives.

Aren't there a small group of people who essentially control all of Bitcoin with no oversight? There might be a group of 30 very wealthy early adopters, miners, main developers, people who own the communication channels, and other influencers, who have 90% of the influence in what happens with Bitcoin. Real currencies can't boast to being that centralised.

Their wealth depends on bitcoin keeping the properties it currently has. For instance they could try to merge a code change that doubles the balances for early adopters, but it would immediately destroy their wealth because people would stop using the currency.

Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#20

Post by Grue3 »

StavrosK wrote: post #12

I was really surprised that the announcement that Steam may support Bitcoin made waves a while ago, yet the announcement that it actually does did not. I used it to buy a (horrible) game last night, and it worked beautifully. Contrast with PayPal, with which Steam is always confused about where I am and whether it should charge me in GBP or EUR. I'm never not using Bitcoin again.

What about refunds? With Paypal you know you're getting the same amount back, in the same currency, as if you haven't bought anything at all. Given the fluctuating nature of Bitcoin, surely that's not possible?
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