Bitcoin has survived skepticism, economic volatility and outright hostility from entrenched financial institutions since it was created by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. But now, it’s starting to seep into the global economy as more big brands are stepping out in support of the digital currency.

Time Inc. is the latest company to announce it’s accepting the virtual currency for subscriptions to many of its magazines, including Fortune, Health, This Old House and Travel and Leisure.

“For a major publisher like Time Inc. to embrace Bitcoin sends an important message to both its readers and to the broader media community,” said Brian Armstrong, CEO and co-founder of Coinbase (Time Inc.’s Bitcoin processor), according to the New York Times.[more]

Microsoft is also now acceping Bitcoin for some online purchases via the BitPay currency exchange, which can now be used for purchases on Windows Store or at stores that sell Xbox Games, Xbox Music or Xbox Video.

Microsoft joins Dell, Overstock.com, DISH Network and Expedia in accepting the virtual currency.

“We’re pleased by the response to our current Bitcoin pilot on Dell.com for consumer and small business shoppers in the U.S.,” said Dell CIO Paul J. Walsh.

“While we were initially predicting we’d see primarily consumer demand, we are seeing purchases across the full product and customer spectrum—from software and peripherals to our Latitude business line of PCs and even our largest transaction to date—north of $50,000 for a highly configured PowerEdge server system. This form of payment is clearly resonating with consumer, small and medium businesses,” he added.

Bitcoin has been building momentum this year. In October, Bill Gates said, “Bitcoin is better than currency in that you don’t have to be physically in the same place and of course for large transactions currency can get pretty inconvenient.”

And it’s found particular success in some of the more unstable international markets. As Business Insider commented, “In the world of conventional finance, governments can see every time you use your credit card, withdraw cash at an ATM, or make a wire transfer. Yet with Bitcoin, they don’t have this ability. And this is a key reason why Bitcoin has become so popular, especially in places like Argentina where people are getting squashed by their government.”

Ironically, as the Russian ruble plunged more than 11 percent against the dollar this week, “the beneficiaries of this flight from Russia appeared to be the euro, the yen, sterling—and bitcoin,” CNBC notes.

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