Microsoft has confirmed it is working with BitPay and describes its adoption of Bitcoin as being "about giving people options and helping them do more on their devices and in the cloud," according to TechCrunch.

Customers can now use bitcoins for buying digital content and games on Windows, Windows Phone and Xbox platforms.

According to members of Reddit's bitcoin subred, bitcoin payments are exclusive to U.S. customers. Customers can use bitcoin to load money into a Microsoft wallet or to create digital gift cards, but direct payments with the cryptocurrency are not supported at this time.

The company is traditionally considered to be a slow moving giant with one foot stuck in the past. Accepting Bitcoin doesn't directly correlate to its recent (and somewhat surprising) moves to make its core services like Office available on rival platforms and using premium pricing models, but the fact that it is ready to embrace an upcoming technology before many of its rivals is a sign that Microsoft's ethos may have modernized.

Forbes reports that offering Bitcoin will help make Microsoft's international payment processing more convenient. "They're a global company," BitPay cofounder and executive chairman Tony Gallippi told Forbes in a phone interview. "People are using their products and operating system in many parts of the world that don't have credit card penetration. It's difficult for many consumers to actually be able to put money in their Microsoft accounts."

Eric Lockard, corporate vice president of Universal Store at Microsoft, said in a statement that the company expects the use of digital currencies like Bitcoin to become mainstream and that allowing customers to purchase products and services with bitcoins allows the tech giant to be at the forefront of that trend.

In February, Microsoft's Bing search engine began displaying Bitcoin price conversions. In an October interview Bill Gates said, "Bitcoin is better than currency."