Gabe Newell Elaborates on Decision to Ban NFTs and Crypto on Steam

Valve’s firm position against emerging technologies has been cemented after games that feature blockchain technology, NFTs, and cryptocurrency have been banned on its prominent video game digital distribution service Steam. Gabe Newell, president, and co-founder of Valve, noted in a recent interview that the decision was primarily fueled by the volatility of cryptocurrencies and bad actors in the NFT community.

“The people in the space, though, tend to be involved in a lot of criminal activity and a lot of sketchy behaviors,” said Newell. “So it’s much more about the actors than it is about the underlying technology.” Newell clarifies that digital ownership and shared universes are fine by themselves but that NFTs are often taken advantage of for illicit activities like money laundering and scams.

Valve, ultimately, does not want to be associated with individuals that conduct these types of actions. These bad actors are “not people you really are wanting to do business with,” he added. As for cryptocurrency, Steam had previously allowed users to purchase games and pay for certain items using digital coins but the volatility of prices became problematic for users. “Like, why did I spend $497 one day to buy a game, and the next day I spent 47 cents, what’s going on here? Volatility is a bad thing in a medium of exchange,” added Newell.

Moreover, it was found that half of all crypto transactions done on Steam were fraudulent to which Newell notes: “that’s just out of control, right?” While it is understandable that fraud will most likely persist on any platform, to have this significant amount of cases should be alarming.

Sources: IGN, GameSpot