Bitcoin Forum

FT Article:

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/f374ed54-4328-11e3-8350-00144feabdc0.html?siteedition=intl#axzz2jbeXTkD0


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Ebay is preparing to expand the range of digital currencies it accepts and said that its payments unit PayPal may one day incorporate Bitcoin.
“Digital currency is going to be a very powerful thing,” John Donahoe, eBay chief executive, said in an interview with the Financial Times.The ecommerce group, which has more than 124m active users, is initially focusing on incorporating reward points from retailers’ loyalty schemes into its PayPal wallet.
“We are building the container so any retailer could put their loyalty points into the PayPal wallet,” Mr Donahoe said.
“There is a limit to how many cards you will carry, or remembering what points you have or don’t have,” he said. “But in a digital wallet, you can put 50 different loyalty cards.”
Mr Donahoe said Ebay was not expanding the PayPal wallet to include Bitcoins, “but we are watching it”.
“That same technology could accept other digital currencies,” he said.
eBay’s efforts raise the possibility that virtual currencies such as Bitcoin may in time move beyond a niche role in online commerce. Some enthusiasts believe Bitcoin and other currencies that exist outside the traditional banking system represent the future of online payments.
The work to expand the PayPal wallet underlines the emergence of virtual payment systems as the latest front in the battle between the global technology giants, including Google and Apple, to increase consumer reliance on their products.
Corporate initiatives have sought to drum up interest in digital wallets for use online and on the high street. Companies from mobile and technology groups to banks and retailers are racing to use new mobile wallets to upend the payments business.
Most of these efforts have focused on new ways of paying with traditional currencies such as the pound and the dollar, rather than with niche mediums of exchange such as loyalty points or Bitcoin.
Bitcoin transactions are conducted through a peer-to-peer network of computers, outside the traditional banking system and largely beyond the control of governments and monetary authorities. The digital currency is accepted by very few retailers at present.
Ebay has in recent years sought to bring more large retailers on to its ecommerce platform, which started as an auction side for small traders. Ebay recently teamed up with Argos to allow customers to collect goods from 150 of the British retailer’s stores.
The ecommerce group also has a partnership with Nectar, the UK’s largest loyalty programme, allowing customers to collect points when they spend money through eBay.
Mr Donahoe said that ecommerce had yet to combine the more “utilitarian” nature of shopping online, with the “social experience” of shopping at the mall or on the high street.

I don't think ebay will ever implement bitcoins!

In the near future they won't have any other option than to accept bitcoins.

There's nothing from preventing sellers accepting Bitcoins is there?  People can just use it as their preferred method, though I guess eBay wouldn't be liable for any fraud that occurs from those auctions.

If Bitmit becomes more popular  then that may well kick the people who run ebay/paypal into taking it seriously.

+1
but if ebay was to accept bitcoins bitmit would be useless imho

Well BitMit has a escrow service. Dunno if eBay has it, but that is a huge plus.

I don't believe that happens in near future. We have to much way to walk.

Neither do I.  Paypal is only alive because of Ebay and Bitcoin is a direct competitor to Paypal. 

WOW! I went through the whole setup / verification nonsense on FT.com to read the article, then I noticed that you pasted it into the thread. Fail :l

It's becoming obvious that Paypal will just add btc as yet another currency. They've hinted at this for months now.

Why?
1. They get to add their 2.9% transaction fee, exorbitant currency exchange fees, and "buyer protection" layer to bitcoin transactions.
2. They will then "allow" Ebay sellers to accept bitcoin - but only through Paypal. Just like they no longer allow money-orders or western union.
3. This will seriously undermine competitor startups like Bitpay, Coinbase, Ripple, etc. because Paypal will be offering the same services to a much larger user base (albeit with higher fees).

ebay/paypal doesnt need escrow because of its reversibility. But since pp already implements consumer protection and conflict resolution, adding escrow for bitcoin (or making the payments reversible, even if through fiat) seems pretty darn obvious.

Ive always said paypal and bitcoin are not enemies, but natural allies. Paypal and bitpay would be enemies, well, competitors really, but paypal brings a lot to the table that is really useful for bitcoin and that no one offers yet.

My bold prediction: in 2014 paypal will buy bit-pay and it's tony Gallippi's turn to retire young and rich or start building space rockets and electric cars :)

Such laughable hubris for a 'currency' that isn't even a fraction of a drop in the ocean of world commerce.

You people are so naive it's dangerous.

Paypal/Ebay are clearly interested in implementing their own crypto currency with additional features to aid consumer adoption, amd then they will use the ubiquity of paypal to push this new currency on users. There is precisely zero chance of Paypal (or any other payment provider) ever accepting Bitcoins.

Why exactly does Ebay need a payment method fewer than one in a thousand people know about? Thus far Bitcoin's main utility is as a medium for speculation, and the price rises reflect the belief of those in the Bitcoin bubble that it is only going to appreciate in value. Of course that never happens, and eventually the speculators realise they are left with a bunch of almost worthless tulip bulbs.

The only benefit of e-bay is how many people use it, other than that it is awful and we don't want it.

Troll educational post:

1. This thread is titled "Ebay again talking about Bitcoin" because Ebay is talking about Bitcoin again. Note that it is not titled "Bitcoin again talking about Ebay"

2. There's no way Paypal will ever issue their own "cryptocurrency", there's simply no reason to. Paypal is already it's own virtual currency. Until you cash out, your funds are only entries on Paypal's ledger. They would gladly just ignore bitcoin if they thought they could.

 

thats what people said before we had bitpay and ever since the idea of a bitcoin payment processor doesnt look so silly now.
You may also want to ask BFL customers if they think the idea of third party conflict resolution / escrow/reversibility is something they really dont want in the bitcoin realm.
Never mind the possibility of being able to purchase bitcoins with a credit card or paypal balance. Just imagine how awful that would be!

I think you have me wrong, all of those things are great. Its just Paypal and E-bay do it horribly.

Somehow, paypal and BTC can probably coexist. paypal will add a fee and security, while BTC will remain wild, unregulated and much cheaper. I've criticized paypal many times for their high fees, but if some people are willing to pay them for added security, that's all right with me.

I really like buying stuff with paypal actually. It's awesome when you arent 100% sure about the shop.

I really hope they accept it as a payment as it would do wonders for the price.  :D

maybe , but when you are a shop-owner, you have fraud and high fees all the time  >:(

The only thing doing wonders to the price is speculation. If Bitcoin is used as Money the price can be anything as its just a medium of exchange. You get some coins spend it on something and the next guy spends it again and so on.... Bitcoins sliding through your hands like sand does nothing to the price. In theory 1 Bitcoin can run the entire word commerce many times over at a price of 1 dollar for the coin. You have to remember its unlimited dividable. Neatness to say that its not practical.
Hoarding it in the anticipation that someone is paying a higher price in the future does affect the price.

I don't think thats true anymore. I work in fashion, and I've had 16 year old fashion models ask me on a shoot: "Should I buy bitcoin?"

Seriously. And it's happened more then once.

I see some people buying bitcoin on ebay and I think that in the next one yearr Ebay will start accepting bitcoin
and so will Amazon. This would give it a bigger boost and might take it over 5K $.

FT dont accept BTC :(

I don't see how or why ebay would do this. They have Paypal. This is shooting themselves in the foot.

newsflash: Paypal's already 'heavily' invested in Bitpay through PP's established Founders Fund. source http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2022132422_bitcoinbelieversxml.html#.UmzA8yViE3g.facebook

Founder's fund are ex-PP people and afaik have no say in current management decisions at PP. However, Paypal Founder's pronounced interest in bitcoin and their stake in bitpay is a pretty nice hint where this train could be headed. PayPal is not likely to ignore this.

Ebay will never implement bitcoin and its simple why!!!

Well, they might. If Bitcoin goes mainstream, they simply won't stand losing money for ignoring Bitcoin. But there's a long, long way to go until we reach that level.

Maybe I'm missing something, but what if eBay just let people pay for auctions in BTC after the one who listed it request being paid in BTC?

Wouldn't that be huge?

This could really be the one to kick start the race for bitcoin.  Yes some may say there is a race now but the price is still very cheap in comparison to its potential.  Once ebay/amazon/household name start accepting bitcoin, the price will fly.

bitmit could have did it better and if theres more develope they can actualy become second ebay

Haven't they admitted defeat and are looking for a buyer? (essentially)

Bitmit is shutting down
https://www.bitmit.net/en/recent (https://www.bitmit.net/en/recent)

To much fraud happens with paypal.  People selling product then getting a chargeback.  Like my website i had 2 credit card chargebacks because it was claimed the card was stolen.

yep, every seller can tell storys about that shit  >:(

More merchants will use eBay if buyers can't issue chargebacks after the escrow period ends. Sellers will know that a sale is FINAL and can budget accordingly. Merchants might lower their prices a bit in return for the decrease in fraud.