You can now use bitcoin to buy games on Steam

Screenshot by Dan Graziano/CNET

Valve is giving you a new way to pay for your games and software. The company has partnered with processing service BitPay to begin accepting bitcoin on its Steam service. The partnership is aimed at international users that may not have access to traditional payment options.

"Valve reached out to us because they were looking for a fast, international payment method for Steam users in emerging gaming markets in countries like India, China and Brazil," Rory Desmond, BitPay's director of business development in North America and APAC, wrote in a post on BitPay's website. "While more users are coming online in in these countries, traditional payment options like credit cards often aren't available."

Steam, a platform and social network for purchasing computer games and software, is used by more than 125 million users from around the world and offers a library of more than 9,000 different games.