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Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

blog.bitpay.com

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Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#71

Post by ssharp »

lsadam0 wrote: post #62
pjc50 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your money is exactly as secure as your private keys, and if they are stolen there is basically no prospect of getting it back. "Be your own bank" implies "be your own security division", which very few people are qualified to do.

If I leave cash on the street should I expect it to be safe? Is that a deep security issue? You implied there were deep fundamental flaws in BTC security, but your response shows nothing of the sort. Your 'deep flaw' is 'you have to protect your private keys'. You are describing a UX flaw, and I would agree with that. Objectively, you have exposed no 'deep security issues'.

I'm not sure what Bitcoin equivalent of "leaving cash on the street" you're inferring. It might be helpful if you elaborated on that.

Bitcoin's non-physical nature (as compared to paper and coin currencies), I think, makes it more of a metaphor to a bank account or debit/credit card than a currency. This likely is a UX flaw, as you state, but it's a pretty big flaw.

And credit cards, in most jurisdictions, have lots of protections against theft and fraud, as well as consumer protections like chargebacks and transactions are reversible, of course.

Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#73

Post by forgetsusername »

jMyles wrote: post #57
forgetsusername wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Can someone explain? What exactly is the news here? Some company accepts some new form of payment that hardly anyone uses. When it comes to "money", Bitcoin proponents seem massively misinformed on how it actually works. The blockchain technology is interesting, but a new currency isn't as exciting as they want you to believe. I don't care that my dollar has no inherent value, as long as people accept it in exchang…

> that's all I care about Well that's a bit short-sighted then. Plenty of people care about a lot more than that in a currency, namely that is it responsibly and equitably managed. Bitcoin is not this, of course, but it's a giant step in the right direction compared to the Federal Reserve.

>Bitcoin is not this, of course,

Then why should I care about it?

>"It's a giant step in the right direction compared to the Federal Reserve.

The Fed system is far from perfect, but despite what the conspiracy theorists think, it didn't spring out of some sinister idea; it's the evolution of a complex financial system that has generated more wealth, for more people, faster, than at any point in history. Those are facts that you're up against when promoting Bitcoin, a system where some early adopters think they are going to hoard the currency until they get rich from it, because other people can't obtain it. Why would any outsiders buy into that system? That's the thing that some people can't grasp; there is no reason whatsoever for your currency to be scarce. It should grow to match demand.

Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#74

Post by aliakhtar »

clemensley wrote: post #24
hypron wrote: post #21

So many bitcoin haters in these comments... we'll see who's wrong in a decade or so.

I've always wondered why hackernews hates bitcoin so much. Can someone explain?

Because a lot of us understand the underlying tech, and how bullshit it is that a $100 cell phone has a higher TPS rate than the entire bitcoin network, which consumes more electricity than a small country (and all the CO2 emissions that go with it)

Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#75

Post by lsadam0 »

k33n wrote: post #70
lsadam0 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, so? Bitcoin is an accepted payment method. Why should you care how exactly they handle processing of it? The only measure of success here is how much people do or do not use it. Are you honestly trying to argue against their acceptance by nitpicking the details of the backend implementation? 99.9% of people don't care.

It read to me as questioning the value of BTC since neither Bitpay or Valve are interested in holding BTC themselves.

That would not change my stance.

Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#76

Post by mbrock »

coldtea wrote: post #45

> Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases Translation: cheap publicity in tech media and goodwill from some geek sites with no impact whatsoever on its actual revenues and 99.999% of payments.

Plus, uh, actual value for people who want to pay with Bitcoin.

> Valve reached out to us because they were looking for a fast, international payment method for Steam users in emerging gaming markets in countries like India, China, and Brazil. While more users are coming online in in these countries, traditional payment options like credit cards often aren't available.

Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#77

Post by eugeneionesco »

joosters wrote: post #23

So you buy bitcoins with dollars, Bitpay exchanges the bitcoins back into dollars, and then they hand the dollars over to Steam. And this is meant to be a good thing?

Are you complaining that there are multiple ways to pay for games on steam?

Is that really an issue?

Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#78

Post by aliakhtar »

rglullis wrote: post #68
joosters wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Valve doesn't handle any bit coins.

Conversely, someone in Argentina or Venezuela doesn't deal with any (government-controlled) USD. Why is that so hard for Americans to understand?

Please stop using us non americans as your justification for bitcoin.

I live in Pakistan, and happily and easily use a visa debit card for buying steam games.

Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#79

Post by ifdefdebug »

Cyph0n wrote: post #66
coldtea wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's because it's not just comprised of tech people, who are excited about its theoretical underpinnings, but also by business savvy people, who know that it will hardly fly for numerous reasons (and if a similar technology ever catches up, it will have so many government imposed regulations as to be totally different), plus old jaded tech persons who know a marginal at best tech and/or snake oil when they see it. As…

I'm sorry, but you're looking at Bitcoin from a narrow viewpoint. There are in fact people who actually need Bitcoin in their day-to-day. My home country Tunisia for example has very strict currency controls in place, which means that it is impossible to purchase any goods from outside the country or even transfer money overseas. The government now provides rechargeable card with a 1000 TND (~500 USD) limit that can…

> Bitcoin provides a quick and easy way to circumvent that

Is that reality as of today, or is that a hope for the future?

Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#80

Post by coldtea »

Cyph0n wrote: post #66
coldtea wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's because it's not just comprised of tech people, who are excited about its theoretical underpinnings, but also by business savvy people, who know that it will hardly fly for numerous reasons (and if a similar technology ever catches up, it will have so many government imposed regulations as to be totally different), plus old jaded tech persons who know a marginal at best tech and/or snake oil when they see it. As…

I'm sorry, but you're looking at Bitcoin from a narrow viewpoint. There are in fact people who actually need Bitcoin in their day-to-day. My home country Tunisia for example has very strict currency controls in place, which means that it is impossible to purchase any goods from outside the country or even transfer money overseas. The government now provides rechargeable card with a 1000 TND (~500 USD) limit that can…

>I'm sorry, but you're looking at Bitcoin from a narrow viewpoint. There are in fact people who actually need Bitcoin in their day-to-day.

Well, perhaps, but

(a) these people are a very small amount compared to "first world" bitcoin champions

(b) they would be better off pushing for actual policy change regarding their problems, instead of using a technological workaround who (depending on the whims of those in power) can land them in jail/money loss at any time...

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