Microsoft Restores Bitcoin Payments after Temporary Pause

Hardware and software giant Microsoft reportedly restored bitcoin payments after “working to ensure lower amounts would be redeemable.” A company spokeswoman released a statement revealing the move after working with its provider, presumably to ensure customer satisfaction wasn’t affected by the bitcoin network’s current high fees and volatility.

Earlier this week, Microsoft surprised the cryptocurrency community by quietly halting bitcoin payments.

Despite Microsoft’s move, a how-to page remained up its website explaining how users could top up their accounts with the cryptocurrency.

The how-to page, and the lack of an official announcement, led many to believe Microsoft restore bitcoin payments in the future. This was notably not the first time the tech giant halted bitcoin payments, as in 2016 it announced the cryptocurrency was no longer accepted. Little after publishing the announcement, the company apologized for what it deemed “inaccurate information” and revealed the flagship cryptocurrency would still be accepted.

This time, once again, it didn’t take long for Microsoft to restore bitcoin payments. The company’s statement reads:

“We’ve restored bitcoin as a payment option in our store after working with our provider to ensure lower bitcoin amounts would be redeemable by customers.”

Microsoft began accepting bitcoin back in 2014 via BitPay. At the time, the move was met with much fanfare, as it joined other tech giants accepting the flagship cryptocurrency. The tech giant’s move comes at a time in which JP Morgan’s chief executive, Jamie Dimon, admitted he “regrets” his now infamous remark from last year, when he called bitcoin a “fraud.”

The move makes it clear Microsoft isn’t following Valve’s footsteps, as its popular gaming and digital distribution platform Steam stopped accepting bitcoin payments due to high fees and volatility last year. Per the company, the cryptocurrency’s fees could lead to “unreasonably high costs for purchasing games with bitcoin.”