The popular streaming platform Twitch that Amazon owns will now accept Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) payments once again. The news arrived as the Bitcoin cryptocurrency was seeing a surge in price followed by a correction and as San Francisco-based payment company Square also started to accept BTC.
According to Cointelegraph, Twitch will now accept BTC and BCH again after the options were removed back in March. At that time, Bitpay was removed as a way for individuals to pay for their subscriptions using the cryptocurrencies. As of the new report, Bitpay is back as a way to make payments with those popular cryptos. There has yet to be any widespread press release or announcement from the company regarding the payment methods.
The Twitch platform launched in 2008 and generally provides live streaming video for the video game community. That includes live streaming various eSports tournaments and gameplay demos, or simply users going on Twitch to compete against others or show their skills. The platform allows for real-time and on-demand viewing. The subscription option allows for premium content offering for certain channels.
Amazon bought Twitch back in 2014 for $970 million. As of May 2018, estimates were that the platform had 2.2 million broadcasters per month with approximately 15 million daily active users. As of last May, the company had approximately 1,000 employees. As of May 2019, Twitch ranks in the top 30 US websites based on web traffic analysis site Alexa.
The news of Twitch accepting Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash again comes as the cryptocurrency market saw some volatile action on Wednesday. Bitcoin (BTC) soared past $13,000 and up to nearly $14,000 before coming down for a correction. As of this report, BTC was at $11,773 according to the Coinbase exchange.
In addition to Twitch accepting Bitcoin, there is also recent news that the payment company Square is accepting BTC deposits via its Cash App platform. The company formally announced on June 26 that the Android and iOS Cash App now allows for bitcoin deposits to be made in customer accounts.
