Microsoft announced last week that it will discontinue the use of Bitcoin on its platform due to its volatility. A few months ago, Steam also announced a similar move and stopped supporting Bitcoin because of its higher fees and unstable price. Steam has hinted that it will restart using Bitcoin as a form of payment in the future. However, the platform refused to clarify when it will do so.
Microsoft sent an email to all of its clients that used Bitcoin as a payment solution, informing them that Microsoft will be ending support for Bitcoin. The move comes weeks after speculation on social media platforms, where Microsoft hinted that it will be removing support for Bitcoin. Microsoft removed the “Redeem Bitcoin” link from Account.Microsoft.com.
However, after all this drama, Microsoft has again started accepting Bitcoin as a payment option. The ban on Bitcoin lasted only a week and company cites “instability” as the reason behind the ban on the tokens.
A spokesperson for Microsoft stated:
For context, the price of bitcoin has changed drastically in a matter of months. It hit a high of $20,000 at the end of 2017, but the price fell to $14,000 just weeks later. The transaction costs also rose significantly in the last year. At the start of the year, cost of transaction was a few cents. However, by the end of 2017, transaction costs reached a price of $40 or more.
Microsoft sent an email to all of its clients that used Bitcoin as a payment solution, informing them that Microsoft will be ending support for Bitcoin. The move comes weeks after speculation on social media platforms, where Microsoft hinted that it will be removing support for Bitcoin. Microsoft removed the “Redeem Bitcoin” link from Account.Microsoft.com.
However, after all this drama, Microsoft has again started accepting Bitcoin as a payment option. The ban on Bitcoin lasted only a week and company cites “instability” as the reason behind the ban on the tokens.
A spokesperson for Microsoft stated:
"We've restored bitcoin as a payment option in our store after working with our provider to ensure lower bitcoin amounts would be redeemable by customers."
For context, the price of bitcoin has changed drastically in a matter of months. It hit a high of $20,000 at the end of 2017, but the price fell to $14,000 just weeks later. The transaction costs also rose significantly in the last year. At the start of the year, cost of transaction was a few cents. However, by the end of 2017, transaction costs reached a price of $40 or more.