Microsoft Adds Bitcoin Payments for Xbox Games and Mobile Content

Global computing giant Microsoft has added bitcoin as a payment option for a variety of digital content across its online platforms.
According to the company’s payments information page, US-based customers can now use bitcoin to add money to their accounts, which can then be used to purchase content like apps, games and videos from its Windows, Windows Phone and Xbox platforms.
The surprise announcement, which is the result of an integration with Georgia-based bitcoin processor BitPay, adds yet another major tech player to the bitcoin ecosystem – Microsoft boasts a market cap of more than $380bn and annual revenue in excess of $86.8bn in 2014.
Eric Lockard, corporate vice president of Universal Store at Microsoft, later addressed the news in a full blog post that sought to convey to a general audience why it believes the move could be part of a long-term strategy that finds it embracing digital currency.
Lockard said:

This post was published at Coin Desk on December 11, 2014.