eBay will go bankrupt in 10-15 yrs, and Bitcoin will be largely to blame

[lilfiend]

We need something big to happen again in order for me to believe that Bitcoin will be somethign incrediable in the future.

Does amazon accepting bitcoin or more winklevii-like investors investing in bitcoin count as something incredible happening? Because I'm sure that would drive the price up sky high!

If amazon or some company like amazon would start accepting Bitcoin that would boost the price up a bit but I don't think that would be enough to substain high numbers.

For high numbers to come and stay there would have to be a massive increase in the ease of use for bitcoin, along with a lot more people speculating/investing in bitcoin. Ideally bitcoin would be as easy to use as a debit card.

Adoption of bitcoin will be the backbone of it though since it will by nature cause deflation, leading to higher prices.

[ranlo]

We need something big to happen again in order for me to believe that Bitcoin will be somethign incrediable in the future.

Does amazon accepting bitcoin or more winklevii-like investors investing in bitcoin count as something incredible happening? Because I'm sure that would drive the price up sky high!

If amazon or some company like amazon would start accepting Bitcoin that would boost the price up a bit but I don't think that would be enough to substain high numbers.

For high numbers to come and stay there would have to be a massive increase in the ease of use for bitcoin, along with a lot more people speculating/investing in bitcoin. Ideally bitcoin would be as easy to use as a debit card.

Adoption of bitcoin will be the backbone of it though since it will by nature cause deflation, leading to higher prices.

There would also need to be a reason to use it. Right now it's a novelty. Three has to be a reason for the average person to say "it's worth converting my cash into BTC to make this purchase." Discounts would help with this, but most sites that take BTC still aren't offering anything.

[Ron~Popeil]

Right now it seems like we pay a premium for using bit coin at a lot of sites but that will change. The Dish Network announcement is big. Hopefully DirecTv and other providers follow suit. 

[PalmerLaura]

Even if paypal adopted bitcoin on the back end it would still charge the same fees but make even more profit, they don't charge those fees because that's how much it actually costs them, the they charge what they can get away with. The correct title should be "How bitcoin will make ebay even more profitable"

[zimmah]

Bitcoin will not be the only factor, but it will be the main factor. Ebay has to deal with companies like Alibaba, Amazon, and now possibly Apple taking market share from it. They don't innovate and they won't innovate/change their PayPal unit because they're too scared. It has been suggested that eBay incorporate bitcoin, but they won't do that because bitcoin is still in its early stages. By the time bitcoin expands and is widely used PayPal will be unable to take the lead in digital currencies. This is without the hacking revelations that recently surfaced, which are likely to get worse. I used to like Ebay, but they charge fees that make resorting to bitcoin look like heaven. Their stock has lagged too in 2013, where everything went up. Bitcoin won't be the only factor in their demise, but it will be the main one.

Article that explains this in detail: http://www.panture.com/why-bitcoin-will-force-ebay-to-go-bankrupt/

Alibaba is in China, China hates bitcoin.

Apple hates bitcoin (you can't even get any bitcoin apps from the apple store, since apple banned them all)

Not sure about amazons stance on bitcoin

Ebay/paypal are the only ones who have shown interest in bitcoin out of the ones you have listed. Maybe they're not as stupid and anti-bitcoin as you think. Maybe they'll actually change their course much beofr ethe others and by making that move they might survive and take an even bigger market share.

[Sydboy]

ebay and alibaba are differant. 15 years ago they didn't have all the cheap chinese stuff on ebay, or the resellers of it. it was just people selling crap.but yeah.

[bryant.coleman]

Alibaba is in China, China hates bitcoin.

Apple hates bitcoin (you can't even get any bitcoin apps from the apple store, since apple banned them all)

Not sure about amazons stance on bitcoin

Ebay/paypal are the only ones who have shown interest in bitcoin out of the ones you have listed. Maybe they're not as stupid and anti-bitcoin as you think. Maybe they'll actually change their course much beofr ethe others and by making that move they might survive and take an even bigger market share.

I am not sure about Alibaba's stance on Bitcoin. They operate in other countries such as Hong Kong and Singapore also. So I don't think that the Chinese ban will affect them. Yes... Apple hates Bitcoin, and it is not going to change. Regarding Amazon, I have heard that the Amazon WS is about to introduce Bitcoin payments. Ebay / Paypal, not sure about them.

[serenitys]

paypal = blockbuster....it is doomed.

[LostDutchman]

paypal = blockbuster....it is doomed.

Horseshit.

[jbreher]

Apple hates Bitcoin, and it is not going to change.

If Apple's (assumed) upcoming payments system tanks in the marketplace, then Apple's stance on Bitcoin will indeed change.

[bitcoinanon]

My colleagues and I have had issues with ebay in the past. And being that sites like ebay and amazon survive off fees mostly it will be interesting to see how they adapt or fall off as bitcoin becomes more mainstream and then more preferred as a payment option. Though this is probably another five years away or more. I am really  hoping both ebay and amazon choose not to accept bitcoin for a long while; which will  hopefully allow other smaller start-ups a decent share in the market.

[Beliathon]

paypal = blockbuster....it is doomed.

Truer words have never been written.

[bryant.coleman]

My colleagues and I have had issues with ebay in the past. And being that sites like ebay and amazon survive off fees mostly it will be interesting to see how they adapt or fall off as bitcoin becomes more mainstream and then more preferred as a payment option. Though this is probably another five years away or more. I am really  hoping both ebay and amazon choose not to accept bitcoin for a long while; which will  hopefully allow other smaller start-ups a decent share in the market.

Amazon has no reason not to accept Bitcoin payments. But the case with Ebay is different. A lot of opposition will come from Paypal, if Ebay accepts Bitcoin as a mode of payment. A compromise might be reached in the end, I hope. Probably Paypal will also integrate Bitcoin to its system.

[sleepygeekygeek]

Bitcoin will compete against PayPal.  Maybe a dark online exchange will beat up eBay..  someone will start a decentralized auction like how Nxt has an asset exchange.

[Balls]

I doubt ebay will ever allow themselves to get anywhere near bankruptcy. They'll just change their business practices if they're feeling the heat or start to struggle.

[kellzy]

I agree with Balls.
Ebay is massive. Bitcoin is still to complicated for the average person.
most people struggle with Paypal haha

[hilariousandco]

I agree with Balls.
Ebay is massive. Bitcoin is still to complicated for the average person.
most people struggle with Paypal haha

I dunno why but that made me chuckle. But I also agree with you and Balls  . If bitcoin is taking away some of their business they'll just implement it and reduce their fees accordingly. They'd rather lose a bit of profits than go completely bankrupt or become redundant.

[LostDutchman]

I agree with Balls.
Ebay is massive. Bitcoin is still to complicated for the average person.
most people struggle with Paypal haha

True.

[ShakyhandsBTCer]

I agree with Balls.
Ebay is massive. Bitcoin is still to complicated for the average person.
most people struggle with Paypal haha

I dunno why but that made me chuckle. But I also agree with you and Balls  . If bitcoin is taking away some of their business they'll just implement it and reduce their fees accordingly. They'd rather lose a bit of profits than go completely bankrupt or become redundant.

eBay and bitcoin do not really compete with eachother.

eBay is a centralized marketplace where people can buy and sell goods with a number of payment methods.

Bitcoin is a P2P payment network that is decentralized.

Paypal is the entity that really competes with Bitcoin.

I would find it likely that Paypal would become so unprofitable for eBay in the future that they essentially shut it down and stop offer the "service" of paypal

[bryant.coleman]

Ebay is massive. Bitcoin is still to complicated for the average person.

With the introduction of payment processors such as Bitpay and Coinbase, Bitcoin is no more complicated when compared to Paypal right now. But safe storage of the coins seems to be out of reach for the non-tech savvy users.