Just over a year on from its introduction, Microsoft has quietly pulled Bitcoin support from the Microsoft Store. While the company has not made an official statement regarding the news, nor has it explained why it took the decision, the Windows Store no longer supports the cryptocurrency for Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile purchases.
“Microsoft Store doesn’t accept Bitcoin,” an update to the Windows Store FAQ reads. “You can no longer redeem Bitcoin into your Microsoft account. Existing balances in your account will still be available for purchases from Microsoft Store, but can’t be refunded.”
Despite this quiet reveal, a page on the Microsoft website entitled “Add money to your Microsoft account with Bitcoin” still exists.
The move marks an unexpected U-turn for the company which, when it introduced Bitcoin support to its store at the end of 2014, proclaimed the digital currency as a growing market.
“For us, this is about giving people options and helping them do more on their devices and in the cloud,” Eric Lockard, Corporate Vice President of Universal Store at Microsoft, said (courtesy of a cached Microsoft blog post, seemingly now deleted). “The use of digital currencies such as Bitcoin, while not yet mainstream, is growing beyond the early enthusiasts. We expect this growth to continue and allowing people to use Bitcoin to purchase our products and services now allows us to be at the front edge of that trend.”
Image courtesy of BetaBoston.
