Steam has recently stopped accepting Bitcoin as payment, becoming one of many to do this recently as transaction fees are increasing to ridiculous amounts with the price increase at the same time. Bitpay was one of the first major payment providers to stop using Bitcoin due to fees and it seems like more and more companies are now looking for alternatives.
Bitcoin has for some time now proven that it is not feasible to be used as a payment processor for micro-transactions or even regular medium sized transactions lately. For many Bitcoin is the first crypto currency they hear about as its the biggest and many exchanges such as coinbase only have a few currencies you can select when depositing fiat. As it seems like Bitcoin will be functioning more as a store of value in the future, this gives a lot of room for the use-case of newer blockchain technologies instead.
At the time of writing this, Bitcoin has over 200,000 unconfirmed transactions, the usualy transactions fees being 0.001 btc used by most exchanges means it currently costs ~$16 to send Bitcoin. Even paying the minimum required fee doesn't guarantee that your transaction will be picked up in the next block as mining pools pick the ones offering a higher fee first. "That's no problem, I'll just trade them into Ethereum and transfer then" you might think, but with Ethereum's current price of $350 and the normal minimum transaction cost of exchanges being 0.01 Ether it would still cost you about tree fiddy ($3.50). With the kitties taking over 25% of the transactions on the network right now it doesn't even guarantee that your transaction will be picked up on the next block either as you'll have to outbid others using a higher fee since Ethereum is also at around 20k unconfirmed transactions right now.
This does bring some problems to every day transactions and I understand why companies such as Steam stop using Bitcoin or might not consider to want to use Ethereum thinking it will at one point face the same hurdles. One thing that cryptocurrencies are good for is knowing the coins you receive and get confirmed are yours forever, there are no charge-backs and the mining makes sure the transactions aren't double-spent. Who has time to wait around 5-?? minutes for a transaction to confirm though when buying coffee or a sandwich.
This brings me to my last thoughts and the title of the post. These payment providers that have recently had to remove Bitcoin since it literally can't be used to transact with anymore are going to want to look for other possibilities soon. The way Steem is built ,if you happened to read the post by @steemitblog last night, it doesn't require the need for transaction fees at all - making it one of the ultimate payment currencies around right now. Imagine wanting to buy a coffee for $5 and paying exactly that on the decimal with only having to wait 3 seconds for your transaction to confirm or wanting to buy an apple for $0,50. No matter the amount, Steem makes this possible and once Steem Dollars settle down it will also give stability to those accepting SBD as payment for their services and goods.
How awesome wouldn't it be for Steam to accept Steem? I know I'd use it a lot more compared to how little I started using Bitcoin for it in the last few months.
At the risk of a downvote, STEEM on Steam would be blem. I bought every title I own on steam via bitcoin, and the fact that they removed it means I will no longer be buying on steam.
With fast confirmations, easy wallet address and no transaction fees, steem would make a perfect microtransaction system.
I'm sure there has to be somebody here who knows somebody who knows somebody that could present this idea in a good way :)
Anyways, all there is to do is talk about it. I've been looking up all kinds of streamers who have been getting banned off twitch, or demonetized on YouTube for whatever silly reason and written something along the lines of "all your problems will be gone when DLive is launched on the STEEM Blockchain!". To the point where some of them even started talking about it :P
Let us just all do our part to ensure people become aware of what STEEM has to offer.
Can't wait for @dlive!
"2.2k Rating Druid/Rogue Arena, only available on DLive"
There are so many streamers that really hate Twitch these days, but there are no real options. Just imagine how many new people this will bring to the Steem blockchain if one of the big streamers start streaming here!
Where can I stream on steem? :O
Nowhere right now, but @dlive is working on creating a platform for it.
Other than the names being similar and possibly confusing the masses, I think it could be a good idea. Unfortunately, don't you think they would go for something other than Steem for payments. Perhaps IOTA?
I worry that since we are down in the 20's range for top cryptos, they wouldn't consider us. Unless they are looking at blocktivity.info and check out Steems transactions and see that Steem can handle the current load and A LOT more.
Do you think we could, as a community, get the witnesses together to try to write some sort of letter or proposal to Steam to get them to use Steem.
If this were possible, you would also see a massive growth of gamers utilizing the platform. Which could then be integrated into other things. Perhaps some way to use Steem with twitch.
The possibilities could be endless. I just think our biggest issue is being noticed.
You think that Papa John's Pizza where Laszlo Hanyecz bought his Pizzas in 2010 is still accepting Bitcoin lol
Would be a nice next big step for Steem to be accepted by steam let's see what the future brings. I have no doubt that in a few years Steem and SBD will be used a lot as payment in many fields :)
I feel like this was written for me =( My transaction is just gonna sit there for eternity. Kinda wish I could never use BTC again now I'm getting to know it.
Steem for Steam
Steem for Revolut
Steem for Amazon
Steem for AliExpress
Steem at the supermarket
Steem at the gas station
Steem to pay the rent
Lambo by Steem
For micro- to big payments we need a blockchain based currency that's fast, capable and secure.
For aliexpress would be crazy!!
I see such a concept as very dangerous to my steem wallet!!! :P
lol!
Women and their shopping addictions..
Yup. You can't have too many USB cables, screen protectors, gaming headsets and cheap gadgets. Being a woman is hard!!!
don't forget random bits of flare for your car, cheap jewelry and clothes that look awesome but just don't quite fit
Don't have a car, got an awesome Skyrim pendant I love, and a Mass Effect cosplay dress. Also, Superman socks with little capes.
In my defense: I limit myself at $50 a month. It's my Uncle Ali allowance.
We need stuff!
haha, yes it is for sure dangerous, but how would you handle the fast increase and decrease in value of SBD or Steem or any other crypto? i think this is the biggest problems for the shops to accept cryptos, till now.
How would I handle it? Even worse. I bought myself some cheese with bitcoin in September and I am still not over it.
lmao!
I think it's crazy that it isn't there yet as a payment option.
For sure!!
Transparent as well ;)
Amazon would be great to buy with crypto or better SBD but i think this is a long way to go they don't even accet bitcoin.
bitcoin is a nightmare with all the fees and the network congestion, steem would be the smarter choice
you can use purse to buy from amazon using bitcoin at a discounted rate :)
And the names match so well together!
Maybe a little too well, might cause confusion (branding wise) - still OP's idea is sound. The more I learn about Steem and SBD the better it looks.
That is really a KO argument!
Useful thoughts and info here for people like me who aren't here because of a crypto-enthusiast background and are only slowly getting to know about these things.
That is true! That is why I like STEEM so much! Also all the platforms based on it (like this) and what are comming!
What I don't understand is if it will eventually stop working, I mean, when it can't be longer mined we won't be able to upvote? Or what will happen?
There will always be some inflation of Steem although a very low % and SBD will keep being printed as far as I know.
I hope to be an orca by that time xD I ignore a lot about the blockchain but I trust you!
No doubt that all these systems that require an alternative Cryptocurrency can switch to steem or golos as they have great and affordable availability over other popular currency, and since bitcoin was created with purpose of storing what else can we expect from it
It'd be pretty dope if that were ever to happen! I'd probably have to fear for my Steem wallet during the Steam winter/summer sales if they decide to ever accept it :|
Haha, same here! If they accept Steem, I would probably have to Power Down once they announce the sales in order to feed my backlog addiction.
Yeah, my backlog would no doubt grow in heaps and bounds if it happens, lol. It's kind of a scary thought, I've got so many games on my wishlist right now...I'd probably end up getting 4-500 games backlogged. My god...The horror.
Hehe, this is the downside to getting games so cheap. I used to go on big shopping sprees during the first summer sales I used Steam, and still have hundred of unplayed games in my library :P Humble Bundle also made it grow a lot!
Oh, yeah. Humble Bundle has also ruined me, haha! I did the same thing for my first Steam sale, though I was in better shape back then financially so I haven't been able to do it again since. But, I've still got like 120-130 games backlogged as we speak thanks to the sales and HB's, lol.
Well, if your in worse financial shape now, at least you don't have to spend any more money on games ;) 120+ games could keep you going for years if you play them all!
Yeah, it's just that most of them are games that I got out of a Humble Bundle that I didn't have much interest in, lol. Some of them are actually prototypes of games and not even the full thing. I've at least got a decent chunk of games in there, but that doesn't mean I don't want the newer games coming out that I've had my eye on for months :P
I totally agree with you. The potential for Steam/SBD to be used in everyday transactions are enormous.
This is a match made in heaven. I hope the people at steemit are in talks with steam and any others. In crisis lies opportunity!
@Acidyo, you keep making valid points. This is very valuable information that you have written to us. At one point when steem was 80 cents and when bitcoin kept going crazy while steem continued to go down I had almost lost hope if it wasn't for you. Thank you for informing us and allowing us to make more accurate decisions in knowing where to invest our money. I know you are not giving financial advice, but you sure are giving us information that will help guide us to make more accurate decisions.
Thank you again my friend!
Maybe we should try to contact Steam ? :D
Back with another comment, After 5 minutes of thinking i just sent a message:
Ohhhh i disappointed guys :( , If you know other steam emails....
Keep up sharing ;))
If steem could be use to buy stuff on steam it would definitely confuse some people, but it is an awesome coin to use as a currency. However, in order to buy a coffee with steem fiat pairing would have to happen for it to be easily accessible.
ohhh that amazing steem & steam.
what a resemblance.
no doubt that each one these structures that require an opportunity Cryptocurrency can transfer to steem or golos as they have top notch and less expensive availability over different famous currency, and on the grounds that bitcoin become created with cause of storing what else are we able to count on from it
Yeah man, totally agree. But what would means for steem if companys like steam accept it in a way that we can pay our stuff with it?
Would the priece of SDB / STEEM increases or ...
Yesterday steam announced that it will no longer support Bitcoin. Here you can find reasons in their statement, released on official platform
Considering that as bitcoin grows we are observing in last days
I believe that using bitcoin as money will continue to became harder day by day.
Average fees at the moment are above $10 and this situation will probably worse, consider that at the moment BTC network is faster than in november so we are still in a relatively good situation.
Other similar announcementsfrom other companyes will probably follow.
So, there is a great adoption scenario for altcoin that are better than Bitcoin for payments... Including our loved steem!
I'd love that so much hahah
It helps to create easy transactions.
Ulta fast , secure and free of cost....I would like that very much
wow thats a great concept..carry on your activity..best of luck..
i saw this post and i liked in your post
And that's when cryptocurrency will get really big- when major markets can start using it for goods and services. I know I'm ready!!
Really i vote
Good Info
I think Ripple will be the way to go. Fortunatly I don't have any pending ETH transaction right now, but it stressed me out when it took 30 mins to make one. People that are new to crypto, don't want to learn all about how gas fees work etc, at least most of them, so this is not ideal. And I think you are just forseeing the future bitcoin crash with this news, actually I didn't knew steam was even accepting it lol. But yea if it already started happening, it will lose popularity, as other cryptos become more mainstream.
Will sbd's go down in price again? What if they don't?
SBD will go down in price. It will just take time. The blockchain should be putting extra SBD out to people for rewards to try to lower the price. It is supply and demand though. There is not a lot of SBD supply, but there is a ton of demand. This has caused the price to skyrocket.
There is a bunch of demand for Steem right now, as you saw by the pump, but there is WAY more steem than SBD. Which is why Steem did not climb even close to as high as SBD did.
Hi @acidyo, I converted $39 worth of SBDs to BTC at Bittrex. It's still not showing up in BTC wallet. Will it be restored in SBD wallet?
Great post. Thanks for sharing.
Stay awesome and Steem On!
Check if its in an open order.
I definitely think one of the USD equivalents is where the solution lies, but SBD is going MANIC right now. I wonder if it will correct? Or just establish a new baseline to keep on growing?
I’m not sure if there is any Tether like mechanic to keep things in check.
I keep telling folks Steemit wilL be the leading crypto currency in afew years.
I even just wrote a post 2 hours ago highlighting 5 Reasons why Steemit will be the top crypto currency in the world in the next few years!
One of the reasons i highlighted in my post is free transaction fees and in 3 seconds transaction complete...as in zero fees.
Another reason is free entry,anyway if you have time go check it out on my blog.
Great info for us. Thanks
A steem can be offered in both the Stеam and the kittens, but should someone negotiate?
Absolutely brother you are right @acidyo we need another cryptocurrency because of massive increase of Bitcoin price
Hopefully with bitcoin being so high, we can see other cryptocurrencies being used for things. Imagine how awesome it would be for everything to be bought and sold with cryptocurrency!
Sounds like a natural fit! Good eye @acidyo
Ripple and Steem seem to be the platforms that are aggressively focusing on this.
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Steem! It's too transparent for ''Steam''. We are the future!
Genius idea !!!
I hope they will not add steem as payment methode on steem otherways I would spend to much money on steam.
In a lot of ways paying for digital services with a digital-based currency only makes sense to me, or at least is poetic in a way as it shows the continuing growth of technological and online culture. It would be great to see Steem fill in the gap that has been left with Bitcoin being pulled from Steam.
Ooo nice thats great
excelente amigo así es
Would be great to buy a car for Steem 😁😁😁. But it think soon this will be the reality.
It's crazy how much the valuation for BTC is rising even though it has seemed to fail enormously in real world application. Nobody is really contemplating buying bitcoin so that they can actually use the currency portion, but rather, so that they can sell it off at a higher price to make some capital gain. It's only a matter of time...
Agree with you. I am sure steem is capable of a revolution. As you, I too hope for a day when all giant platforms take an initiative to adopt this. Maybe the smaller ones too.