Gabe Newell, the co-founder of the Steam video game distribution network, has explained why the company no longer accepts bitcoin payments. According to Newell, moreover half of all bitcoin transfers on the site were fraudulent and the company doesn’t want to have those clients also.
This influenced the decision to discontinue accepting bitcoin as payment in December 2017. Another issue was volatility, which meant that customers were either underpaying or overpaying for games.
As per information, Newell was not completely disparaging blockchain technology. Rather, he thought there was still a scarcity of compelling applications for the technology. In other words, it was a problem in need of a solution.
Steam refused to accept NFTs on its network earlier this year, according to sources. Even though plenty of renowned companies are interested in using NFTs, it has sparked a lot of debate in the gaming world. The issue with NFTs, according to Newell, is that many of those participating are terrible actors. Scams involving NFTs have proven to be a needle in the niche’s side. Marketplaces are looking at how they might better safeguard their users from such occurrences.
In the NFT market, there is still a long way to go. Its popular appeal has proven to be quite effective, and its collector aspect has always piqued people’s interest. However, considering the prevalence of NFT scams, which target individuals with little knowledge, something must be done to strengthen user safety.
