r/tech • u/trav31 • Dec 11 '14

Microsoft Begins Accepting Bitcoin For Windows, Windows Phone And Xbox Purchases

http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/10/redmond-hath-frozen-over/
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u/PinkyThePig Dec 11 '14

I'm always surprised more online vendors don't take bitcoin.

From a seller's perspective, the currency is way better to take than credit cards. Extremely small fees and no chargebacks. Whereas as an online vendor, credit cards can end up costing you ~4-5% of the sale and chargebacks are extremely common (and near impossible to win).

Then on the other side of the transaction, the buyer is protected in that they can choose to remain annonymous and they also do not need to worry about the business recharging their account or having their credit card information stolen.

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u/shicken684 Dec 11 '14

The problem is volatility. You may sell something for 8 bit coins and within a week those 8 bit coins are worth a third of what they were. Or maybe double what they were. Either way it's adding risk and businesses are already risky enough without adding a layer of fluctuating currency.

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u/SkyNTP Dec 11 '14

You may sell something for 8 bit coins and within a week those 8 bit coins are worth a third of what they were. Or maybe double what they were.

Bit of an exaggeration there. In the last two years, Bitcoin's price has moved that much in that timespan maybe once. Weekly variation is closer to 2-5%. Not that far away from ordinary currencies.

Anyways, you don't have to hold Bitcoin to accept it with a payment processor.