In the latter part of 2014, Microsoft announced it would accept Bitcoin in its online store. But with a terse note comprised of two sentences recently posted on its website, the technology company has revealed it has stopped supporting the controversial cryptocurrency at its Microsoft Store across all Windows 10 devices.
Microsoft has not provided any reason for dropping Bitcoin as a form of payment, but observers believe it might be because transactions using the currency fared poorly in the past two years. Other possible reasons could include regulatory challenges or fraud.
In the posted statement, Microsoft explained that users who have existing Bitcoin balances in their accounts can still purchase content from the Microsoft Store but it can no longer be refunded. Consumers will also no longer be allowed to make any new deposits using the cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin had been gaining a lot of traction as a digital currency in previous years. This prompted Microsoft to adopt it as a form of payment two years ago. In the accompanying official statement released at the time with a huge amount of fanfare, Erick Lockard, corporate vice president of Universal Store at Microsoft said, "The use of digital currencies such as Bitcoin, while not yet mainstream, is growing beyond the early enthusiasts. We expect this growth to continue and allowing people to use bitcoin to purchase our products and services now allows us to be at the front edge of that trend."
Since then, users were able to use Bitcoin to buy content such as games, music and videos. Microsoft has, however, limited transactions to digital purchases, as the currency was not permitted to purchase physical merchandise. Bitcoin's use was further validated when it was acknowledged by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Presently; other tech companies are also using it such as Valve.
Observers are still expecting Microsoft to issue a statement that would explain why it unceremoniously stopped using Bitcoin in its online store. The release of such information is also important to clarify vague details such as whether the currency will still be entertained in Xbox, as this bit was absent in the initial announcement.
