Software giant Microsoft has silently removed support for Bitcoin in the Microsoft Store – a platform that offers all of its flagship software including Windows and Office. The move, which took effect on December 26, comes three years after the corporation adopted the digital currency in late 2014, with much fanfare.
Although an official statement from Microsoft is not yet available, many crypto enthusiasts and reporters reached out to the company for a word on this. The support staff has already revealed that Bitcoin is not accepted anymore when buying content from Windows stores.
Several Microsoft employees have cited the unstable state of the Bitcoin currency. It’s also possible that Microsoft simply did not want to deal with complaints of delayed transactions and significant increases in the fees to process transactions, a scenario which it would have little control over. The high volatility may cause even greater problems for the company when the value of Bitcoin itself drops dramatically.
Transaction fees that are charged to the customer by the Bitcoin network have skyrocketed in 2017, topping out to more than $20 per transaction last month, compared to roughly $0.20 when Microsoft originally accepted Bitcoin.
In December 2014, Microsoft added bitcoin as a payment option to purchase apps, games, and other digital content from the Windows, Windows Phone, Xbox Games, Xbox Music, and Xbox Video stores. At the time, the software-maker joined the ranks of other large companies like Dell, Newegg, TigerDirect, among others, to begin accepting bitcoin.
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