'50% of transactions were fraudulent' when Steam accepted Bitcoin for payments (pcgamer.com)

Article summary

Gabe Newell, Valve president, stated that 50% of transactions were fraudulent when Steam accepted Bitcoin for payments. This high rate of fraud was one of the reasons Steam stopped accepting Bitcoin in 2017. Newell also expressed skepticism about the use of blockchain and cryptocurrency in gaming, citing the potential for scams and fraud. He noted that the technology behind blockchain is interesting, but its current applications are often problematic.

Main themes

• Bitcoin and cryptocurrency
• fraud and scams
• Steam and online gaming
• blockchain technology
• money laundering
• online transactions and payment methods
• regulation and liability

What commenters say

• The high rate of fraudulent transactions on Steam when using Bitcoin may have been due to the use of stolen credit cards to purchase Bitcoin, which was then used to buy games or items on Steam.
• Some commenters argue that money laundering through Bitcoin on Steam is not a viable or realistic scheme, as it would be easily detectable and not worth the effort.
• Others propose that Bitcoin's public ledger could be used to track and identify fraudulent transactions, and that exchanges and Steam could work together to prevent and mitigate fraud.
• There is disagreement about whether Steam would be liable to return funds if they were paid with stolen Bitcoin, with some arguing that this would not be the case, while others believe that Steam would have a self-interest in pushing for restitution.
• The use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on Steam is seen as a potential vector for fraud and scams, and some commenters argue that it is not worth the risk to allow these payment methods.
• Some commenters believe that the problem of fraud on Steam when using Bitcoin could be mitigated through the use of better analytics and tracking of transactions.
• The discussion highlights the complexities and challenges of using cryptocurrency for online transactions, particularly in the context of gaming and digital goods.