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Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

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Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#81

Post by bigmanwalter »

rhino369 wrote: post #61
jMyles wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

No, it's a massive step in the wrong direction compared to the federal reserve. There is reason bitcoins value wildly fluctuates and the US dollars doesn't.

Isn't it because big ships don't maneuver so quickly?

Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#82

Post by mbmott »

chii wrote: post #69
StavrosK wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just asked for a refund, because the game was terrible. I asked for the refund to be sent to my wallet, there was an option to get Bitcoin back. I think that, for the wallet, they refund you the game's store price.

this seems like a good way to launder bitcoins. Unless if you got back _the same_ coins you spent - i guess steam holding on to your coins for 2hrs~ isn't that big of a risk, rather than immediately swapping it out for cash.

Not the case. The bitcoin you paid in and the bitcoin refunded to you are tied directly to your real identity, so I'm not sure what value "laundering" would have. There are no dirty bitcoins--see the U.S. Gov sale of the Silk Road coins as proof of this.

Bitcoin does have mixing services that would "launder" or obfuscate the link between bitcoin and your real identity, which does provide value for some users.

Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#83

Post by coldtea »

mbrock wrote: post #76
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.

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

Yeah, there's always that, too.

Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#84

Post by forgetsusername »

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…

That's a wonderful use case for BTC.

But the overwhelming majority of bitcoin investment, marketing and ownership isn't coming from Tunisia. It's coming from the West (and China), where most people have no problems spending or obtaining currency (maybe China does).

Why are Westerners so eager to make money off of people's inability to move money around poor countries, and why is it supported?

Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#86

Post by Flimm »

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…

How do you convert TND to BTC?

Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#87

Post by mbmott »

aliakhtar wrote: post #74
clemensley wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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)

A $100 cellphone isn't a decentralized peer to peer network. You are comparing apples to nose-hairs. Bitcoin will scale in the same way the internet scaled... slowly and then suddenly.

Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#88

Post by Ntrails »

krisdol wrote: post #33
Grue3 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Can you ever take money out of steam?

Buy hats with steam credit, sell on a third party marketplace. Lose n% in fees and price differentials.

It is done completely legitimately - you're just not getting money from steam

Re: Steam now accepts Bitcoin for purchases

#90

Post by rhino369 »

bigmanwalter wrote: post #81
rhino369 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it's a massive step in the wrong direction compared to the federal reserve. There is reason bitcoins value wildly fluctuates and the US dollars doesn't.

Isn't it because big ships don't maneuver so quickly?

No it's because the fed actively manages money supply while Bitcoin managed money supply by setting money growth at a predetermined rate.

That and the vast majority of bitcoins are held for speculation instead of used as a currency.

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