So far new merchants adopting Bitcoin has not have very strong impact on the price. However, now that there are solid examples of known companies accepting Bitcoin there could be a real chance that Steam starts to feature it too, don't you think? For that reason, I created this support ticket today:
https://support.steampowered.com/view.php?ticketref=1948-TUPB-3999In case the link does not work for others except myself, here's the content:
Now the question is, would this event be any more significant than for example Overstock accepting Bitcoin? To me it would be obviously more significant as I'm a video game developer and occasional player. But then again, it would be just another possibility to dump bitcoins as Valve probably converts them to dollars right away.
This is the customer service dialogue so far:
1 Message by you on Mon, 16th Jun 2014 5:51 am
When will you integrate Bitcoin payments? I can see Paypal and other parasitic middle men listed as payment methods you accept but no Bitcoin. I am tired of paying to other people so that they would gift me the game I want to play on Steam.
In case you did not know, services such as bitpay.com can handle bitcoin payments for you and your company will immediately receive the transferred value in dollars. This way I get to pay for your games with Bitcoin and you will still receive dollars.
Erich
2 Message by Support Tech Jax on Tue, 17th Jun 2014 11:11 am
Hello Erich,
Thank you for contacting Steam Support.
We accept the following forms of payment:
Credit/debit cards
Visa
MasterCard
Discover
American Express
JCB
PayPal
For more information on PayPal, please visit
http://www.paypal.com/ClickandBuy
For more information on ClickandBuy, please visit
http://www.clickandbuy.com/Visa Electron
Please contact your card issuer to ensure that your Visa Electron card is enabled for online purchases before attempting to purchase games on Steam.
Gift Cards
It is possible to order through Steam with a gift card from one of the credit card issuers listed above, however, we require that the address information and CVV2 information for the card be an exact match to the gift card or virtual card issuer's system.
We recommend that you inquire with the card issuer to ensure you have the correct address and CVV2 information to complete the transaction.
PaySafeCard
For more information on PaySafeCard, please visit
http://www.paysafecard.com/Please Note: PaySafeCard Junior cannot be used to purchase video games of any kind. If you are over 18, you may contact PaySafeCard and exchange your card for one without this restriction.
Carte Bleue
Please contact your card issuer to ensure that your Carte Bleue card is enabled for online purchases before attempting to purchase games on Steam.
For more information on Carte Bleue, please visit
http://www.carte-bleue.com/iDEAL
For more information on iDEAL, please visit
http://www.ideal.nl/consument/Sofortüberweisung
For more information on Sofortüberweisung, please visit
https://www.payment-network.com/WebMoney
For more information on WebMoney, please visit
http://www.wmtransfer.com/Skrill/Moneybookers
For more information on Moneybookers, please visit
http://www.moneybookers.com/Steam Wallet Codes
For more information on Steam Wallet Codes, please visit
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=1122-RTSC-0478#whatcodesIf you have any further questions, please let us know - we will be happy to assist you.
3 Message by you on Wed, 18th Jun 2014 3:56 am
I know what forms of payment you accept but that was not the question at all.
The question is: When will you integrate Bitcoin payments?
You might be interested in knowing what the Bitcoin community thinks about such a move:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/what-if-steam-accepted-bitcoin-654752There are several good points brought out in the discussion, explaining why Steam would be a perfect use case for Bitcoin payments, outperforming all the others by the new possibilities it introduces to the gaming world.
For example, with Bitcoin it would be possible to make in-game purchases (unlock special abilities during the gaming session on demand). The latter IS NOT POSSIBLE with Paypal and others but Bitcoin supports it natively. In fact, it was one of the suggested main use cases for Bitcoin when it was created. Why is it so? Because Bitcoin transaction fees are so small that they are practically for free. With Bitcoin, one can make micro payments such as paying only 0.01 dollars worth of Bitcoins in order to unlock some special feature in the game and the transaction fee would be 0.001 dollars in that case.
Next time, please don't give me a copy-paste answer but instead make it plausible to assume that you have actually read what I have written. If you as a customer service worker feel incompetent to continue this discussion then please consider forwarding the issue to a higher level of your company's reasoning.
Erich
4 Message by Support Tech Jax on Thu, 19th Jun 2014 10:35 am
Hello Erich,
No information is currently available for this payment method.
Please refer to the Steam News section for the latest news and updates.
Steam News
http://store.steampowered.com/news/Thank you for your interest.
5 Message by you on Fri, 20th Jun 2014 3:39 am
Will you forward this as a new feature request? Is it already in the queue?
Erich
6 Message by Support Tech Jax on Fri, 20th Jun 2014 3:37 pm
Hello Erich,
I will forward your comments onto the appropriate department.
Please note, if you wish to share an opinion, idea or suggestion, please visit the Steam for Mac section of the Forums, found here:
http://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/2/This forum is regularly read by Valve's development team.