Steam abandoned Bitcoin in early December 2017, as the insane 1000% price increase also led to an explosion in transaction costs, which the store found impossible to swallow. Since gamers were well-represented among the Bitcoin-HODLing community, this announcement came as quite a shock, and indeed, the cryptocurrency market peaked just a few days later. Whether that was a coincidence or not, Steam’s decision certainly sent a chill through the gaming world, as we all waited to see which would be the next domino online to fall.
Where can you still use Bitcoin to pay for your gaming fun? Here’s a list of options which still work at the end of March 2018.
Online casinos
The online casino business embraced Bitcoin faster than most. This new decentralized payment method allowed them to bypass the financial institutions which in some countries are prohibited from facilitating gambling activities. Most casinos now do accept Bitcoin and a few other cryptocurrencies as payment methods. As well as the shady casinos based in places like Costa Rica, there are plenty of reputable names involved too, allowing you the peace of mind that a licenced and regulated name brings. Check out Gambling Metropolis for the best of the bunch and pick up a welcome bonus while you are there.
Xbox
Microsoft followed quickly in Steam’s footsteps in halting Bitcoin transactions in mid-December, crushing the hopes and dreams of newly Bitcoin-rich Christmas shoppers. However, this thankfully turned out to be merely a brief interruption, and since January Microsoft have allowed the cryptocurrency back as a payment option. This includes access to its Xbox store, allowing customers to purchase some of the world’s best-loved games, like Overwatch and Assassin’s Creed.
eGifter
This gift card store accepts Bitcoin as a payment option, which is rather handy, as it then gives you access to gift cards from Apple, Facebook and even Playstation store. Your bitcoin payment is automatically converted into US dollars, allowing you to quickly and easily purchase titles like Destiny 2 and Grand Theft Auto, as well as credits for FB games like Criminal Case.
SteamBitShop
The Chinese character for danger is also the one for an opportunity, and within days of Steam pulling out of the Bitcoin ecosystem, some enterprising individual set up the SteamBitShop. It’s basically a middleman site where you request a Steam game, they quickly send you a price in Bitcoin, then they purchase and send you the game. As you would expect, there is a hefty markup, but the feedback we received from customers is that the games are delivered in a swift manner and if the Bitcoin price changes in your favour, they will even refund some of the difference. Still, we advise exercising caution here.
Bitrefill
Another – probably safer – way to use the Steam store is to use the Bitrefill service. This website allows users to top-up prepaid mobile phones using Bitcoin and Litecoin, and also now lets customers pay for Steam vouchers using these same cryptocurrencies. You can even make an off-chain payment using a Coinbase account, for added convenience.
If you want to spend some of your Bitcoin on gaming, these are your best options in 2018. As always with cryptocurrencies though, the situation is fluid, and it’s best to keep up-to-date with the situation to avoid disappointment.
If you want to keep up to date with cryptocurrency developments in 2018, you can subscribe to the TotalCrypto.io YouTube channel