Bitcoin has been given a big boost in stature as Microsoft is now accepting
the cryptocurrency for digital content from its stores.
The new feature was quietly added to its website last night and has been enabled by a partnership with payment processing startup BitPay.
It is now possible to use Bitcoin to add money to your Microsoft account, but not use it to pay for goods directly. Once you add money to your Microsoft account you can use it to buy apps, games and other digital content from the Windows, Windows Phone, Xbox Games, Xbox Music and Xbox Video stores.
"Most Bitcoin transactions should process immediately. If it doesn't, please
wait up to two hours for the transaction to complete before contacting
support," says a support
page on Bitcoin on Microsoft's website.
"Money added to your Microsoft account using Bitcoin cannot be refunded, so make sure to review your transaction before paying with your digital wallet."
According to Coindesk, Redmond partnered with Bitpay to make the new arrangement possible. Microsoft pointed out that you can only add $100 at a time using Bitcoins, the payments can't be refunded and support is limited to the United States. In addition, they can only be used to purchase digital goods and not products like Microsoft Lumia phones.
Now the US tech giant joins other big players like Dell, which has gone all-in on Bitcoin and accepts it for most products and services. PayPal
has a deal with Coinbase to help online stores accept Bitcoins, though
you still can't add them to your digital wallet.
So far Amazon, the 800-pound gorilla of the e-commerce world, has strongly resisted the digital currency, however.
