How? If CC companies refuse to process any itch payments unless the content they object to is removed from the site, then crypto would have to become itch's sole payment option. That would probably kill the site.

I think OP assumes widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies, but cryptocurrencies are very impractical for regular use.

It's relative, though. As cash and cards become more impractical by the day, they will eventually be less practical than even crypto.

The work of processing a credit card transaction is 1/100000th the work of a blockchain transaction via proof of work. Credit card transactions can get enormously impractical and it will still be more practical than a purposefully-inefficient distributed database.

Stablecoins don't use proof of work.

Most of the stablecoins are on Ethereum, which is Proof of Stake, and the remaining is on centralized chains like Tron.

Gas fees on Ethereum L2s like Base cost $0.0016 to send USDC, and $0.00064 to send ETH.

how are cards impractical?

It’s very practical if it’s stablecoins

I'm not sure what a stablecoin is beyond what I can intuit from the name, but the fluctuating prices of crypto seems like a detriment. However, couldn't the prices of materials listed on itch just update live to reflect the value of whatever coin they settle on using?

Stablecoins are tokens issued by a centralized issuer that is backed by fiat and /or US treasuries (especially for USD stablecoins). This would mean USDC by Circle, or USDT by Tether, but there are more stablecoins issued by others as well.

Itch could update the prices pegged to BTC or ETH, yes, but they'd either want to keep them, or liquidate them to USD, in which case there is risk of fluctuation between when the token is sent, and when it's liquidated.

So stablecoins are reinventing banks just with less regulation?

Having one payment option is better than none. There are three alternatives:

1. Regulate the payment processors. This would need widespread agreement and some kind of global initiative—possible, but sounds like a LOONG process.

2. Invent an open payment technology that isn't crypto. Probably the most desirable outcome, but another LOONG process.

3. Bow down to the payment processor mafia. Sadly, this is where we exist; I think it's the worst possible option. Imagine what else we may be prevented from buying in future. Cash is becoming harder and harder to spend in the real world. First, they came for our porn; why wouldn't they come for our food, eventually?

It seems to me as this is a compelling use case for regulation that prevents discrimination by payment processors.

I just looked up a few porn sites and they don't provide Mastercard/Visa payment but they just take the national payment processor of the few (EU) countries I checked.

> I just looked up a few porn sites and they don't provide Mastercard/Visa payment but they just take the national payment processor of the few (EU) countries I checked.

What does this mean? "national payment processor"?

CB in France, Bancontact in Belgium, iDEAL in the Netherlands.

Those are all nationwide networks that allow online payments (online in this case, but they also handle most non-cash payments offline) inside these countries. I think most countries have such a network (under various legal forms, for example CB is a consortium but Bancontact is for-profit, while I think Interac in Canada is a non-profit, etc) but the US doesn't have an equivalent as far as I know.

America has FedPay, but it hasn't been widely implemented yet.

Maybe USDC being public makes this a better time. I believe Steam tried to accept bitcoin, but the price fluctuations and slow transactions made it impossible for them to provide the level of service that set.

BTC or any crypto lost way less value (in fact only increased) where 1 USDT/C lost 20-25% of its value for the average European since trump began crashing the US.

Really no reason at all to hold or handle USD compared to nearly anything else right now :)

For your information, there's stable coin for EUR as well[1]

[1]: https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/euro-coin/

Also CHF and many other currencies have interesting stable coin projects. Or just hold on BTC/Eth/... directly :)

Do you not mean 'hodl'?

People seem to not mention the 'slow transactions' that often, but suddenly adding all the business formerly transacted with credit card companies by itch.io would probably wreck all of crypto immediately. Too much volume.

Hopefully this can accelerate the world being free of historical payment providers.

Yes, this is a very good example of traditional payments systems failing.

They'll censor any content they disagree with.

Crypto can't be censored so easily.

using a technological method to try solve a social problem is unlikely to really succeed.

Censorship is a social problem, and needs to be solved with social methods, such as enacting payment neutrality laws like net neutrality laws (hah, as if), or electricity neutrality laws etc.

Using crypto can temporarily bypass it, until it doesn't or you are stigmatized somehow under the law for it.

I think you are underestimating the social dynamics of a centralized vs decentralized systems.

In the end, the power of everyday people to control what the law wants to ban is limited.

In some countries, content in favor of certain minority groups is banned. For sure those groups ability to take payment is impacted.

Sometimes those minorities are denied citizenship and can't open a bank account e.g. the Rohingya in Myanmar.

On one hand the republican are pushing for puritan values via Visa/Mastercard, on the other hand they are pushing for cryptos which will reduce their control.

[edit: perhaps this pushing for puritan values is actually a 9000 IQ move to promote crypto-backed stores]

Crypto is a way for them to avoid the anti-bribery, anti-financial-crimes laws that were passed over the last hundred years. They know most people won't use it ever, but the people doing bribes were already willing to go above and beyond to get what they wanted.

... until cryptocurrencies get banned too for "only being used by deranged criminals"