Bitcoin Is Getting Steam-y
Valve preparing to open up cryptocurrency to pay for games and downloads, according to leaked information
Bitcoin is set to sign up another high-profile partner following reports that the world’s leading online games platform is due to start accepting payments soon.
Steam, the digital distribution platform created by Half-Life publisher Valve, is preparing to accept Bitcoin payments, according to screenshots and information leaked on to Reddit today.
The move, which has yet to be confirmed by Valve, would make Steam the largest gaming service to support Bitcoin to date.
Supported
The information, which was posted to the official Steam subreddit page, includes details on how Bitcoin payments will work on the platform, suggesting that Steam will use third-party software, thought to be BitPay API, to process the payments.
Also included is the text of a message that will be displayed to users who choose to pay with Bitcoin, noting that the payments can take anywhere from several minutes to a few days to be confirmed.
If true, the news will mean another major company has recognised the potential of signing up to Bitcoin payments, despite the Bank of England raising its suspicions about the use of the currency last year, warning that the digital currency could pose a threat to financial stability in the UK should it see widespread adoption.
Barclays has previously announced that it would be supporting research into using Bitcoin in the UK as part of a major investment in burgeoning technology firms.
The bank has agreed a proof of concept (PoC) deal with Safello to explore how blockchain technologies could be harnessed in the financial services sector, marking the first time that a UK bank has announced such a deal with a Bitcoin company.
Last year, it was also reported that the NASDAQ stock exchange was also evaluating blockchain, the underlying technology behind Bitcoin, in order to see if it could be used in trading of shares in private companies.
Prestigious investment bank Goldman Sachs has also invested in bitcoin consumer-services company Circle Internet Financial as part of a $50m funding round back in May.
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