Twitch snatches Bitcoin; Crypto remains a terrible payment method, for the moment



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When Satoshi Nakamoto wrote the history White Paper on Bitcoin, the elusive creator called Bitcoin, a peer-to-peer electronic payment system. But ten years later, bitcoin is still a terrible way to pay for things.

The Twitch streaming platform has just proved its meaning by quietly removing its bitcoin and bitcoin cash payment options. The streaming platform owned by Amazon did not motivate his move, but one can read between the lines. There is no demand.

Do not mistake yourself. I would like Bitcoin to become the global payment system, but it faces serious problems. And it's not because of speed, expense, or technology. It's because of the stupid way the government taxes bitcoins. Let's deepen this subject.

Twitch silently removes encrypted payment options

A streaming service owned by Amazon, Twitch has obviously removed BTC and BCH as payment options for subscriptions. #bitcoin #tic

– crypto sarah ⚡️ (@ crypto_sarah9) March 25, 2019

Twitch abandons Bitcoin

Twitch is the latest provider that accepts bitcoins to abandon crypto-currency support. The news was first distributed by a publisher who posted:

"[Twitch] had an option to pay by Bitpay. They have removed it in recent weeks as a means of payment for all countries. The negative adoption strikes again. "

NCC can confirm that Twitch has already proposed Bitcoin as a payment method for subscriptions. The screen shot below clearly displays the Bitcoin logo.

Screen capture of bitcoin Twitch's acceptance

A tweet confirming Twitch's previous support for bitcoin payments.

At the time of writing on Monday, March 25th, the bitcoin payment option is no longer available.

Twitch - Bitcoin is no longer available

Twitch subscription payment methods from March 25th. Bitcoin is no longer an option.

Twitch is not the only top company to give up Bitcoin support. One of the world's largest travel companies, Expedia, ceased to support encrypted payments in 2018. After initially accepting crypto-encrypted payments, the Fortnite gaming store chose the payment option, claiming that all this was an accident.

Bitcoin payments fell by 80% until 2018

The latest development of Twitch is not really a surprise. Bitcoin payments fell by 80% last year. When the price plummeted, people stopped using bitcoin to pay for their purchases. The damning report from Chainalysis queried 17 payment processors, including BitPay, which powered Twitch's encrypted payments.

This is a clear sign that people just do not want to use Bitcoin to make payments.

Why Bitcoin Sucks as a Payment Option

Most people blame Bitcoin for the low speed and high costs of not making payments. But that's not the main problem. In fact, the Lightning Network means that micropayments in bitcoins are now possible with fees and payments almost zero.

The problem is the stupid way that Bitcoin is taxed. The US government taxes bitcoins as property, which means they are subject to capital gains tax.

So, if you buy a coffee using Bitcoin, you must instantly pay the tax on the gains you have made. It's ridiculous. For each bitcoin payment, you must keep a record of the transaction and your gains or losses. As CNBC explains:

"If you've dumped bitcoin in any way last year – by selling it, offering it to a friend or using it to buy pizza at a Lamborghini – you're triggering a" taxable event. "You are then responsible for paying taxes on the appreciation of the virtual currency from the price at which you purchased it, up to the price at which you sold it (or spent) ".

People will not spend Bitcoin until it has changed

Bitcoin's main obstacle to the adoption of payment is not speed or technology, it is this short-sighted tax law. In addition, bitcoin owners will probably not spend their bitcoin right now, while the price has dropped so much below their initial investment.

I continue to believe that the use of bitcoin for payments will trigger the next rise. But as long as these things do not change, that will not happen.

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