Part 2/14:
Initially, Valve cited a specific issue with an acquiring bank as the cause for the sudden withdrawal of payment options. They explained that this bank had terminated its services for nearly all currencies, with only six remaining unaffected at that time. The initial assumption was that this was solely a technical or financial matter related to currency conversions or bank policies unrelated to content restrictions or moderation issues.
However, some skeptics doubted this explanation, especially given the simultaneous removal of certain content and games from Steam, coinciding with the banking disruptions. Observers noted a pattern suggestive of a broader censorship or content moderation effort, rather than an isolated financial dispute.