Steam has stopped Bitcoin payments after deeming the currency "too volatile"

Online gaming giant Steam has stopped accepting Bitcoin payments from customers

Steam, which is one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms, has confirmed it's to stop accepting payments through Bitcoin.

The company, which is owned by Valve, announced the news yesterday. It came to this decision because it's worried that the cryptocurrency has become too "volatile".

The company said it made the decision because it feels that the "high fees and volatility" could undermine the reputation of the firm.

Although Bitcoin has seen huge growth over the past few months - surpassing the $12,000 valuation mark this week - the firm said the fees aren't feasible for its business.

Steam engineer kurtis Chinn wrote about the news in a blog post. He said: "As of today, Steam will no longer support Bitcoin as a payment method on our platform due to high fees and volatility in the value of Bitcoin."

Of course, Bitcoin is a risky currency. It may see a massive surge one day and then suddenly drop in valuation next. This also reflects the firm's decision.

"When checking out on Steam, a customer will transfer x amount of Bitcoin for the cost of the game, plus y amount of Bitcoin to cover the transaction fee charged by the Bitcoin network," explained Chinn.

"The value of Bitcoin is only guaranteed for a certain period of time so if the transaction doesn't complete within that window of time, then the amount of Bitcoin needed to cover the transaction can change.

"The amount it can change has been increasing recently to a point where it can be significantly different."

Steam implemented bitcoin payments in April, and many pundits saw this as a big opportunity for the company. But the firm said the uncertainty of the currency doesn't help customers.

That said, the company explained that it'll potentially "re-evaluate" Bitcoin in the future, but it hasn't given a timeline of when this may happen.

Chinn added: "At this point, it has become untenable to support Bitcoin as a payment option. We may re-evaluate whether Bitcoin makes sense for us and for the Steam community at a later date."