How much resources does it take to start using a payment processor for select digital content, with barely any PR--a few blog posts? If you're suggesting that Microsoft made a mistake, that's possible too tho. I'm on the fence re. this, convince me

Not a mistake. It's called foresight and having a vision. Something you so evidently lack.
So Microsoft, having decided to let a payment processor pay it in $$$, is now a visionary?
But brg444, you said open source...

Baby steps

You know they can decide to hold whatever % of BTC they choose right?
"Microsoft has a long-term vision for bitcoin, BitPay and the blockchain. Starting with digital goods in the US is the logical first step, however, they want to expand to Europe and globally and add support for other products as part of that rollout."