eBay CEO: "We will have to integrate digital currencies..."

[khme88]

http://video.cnbc[dot]com/gallery/?video=3000281677

He also mentiones he owns bitcoin himself. All in all, looks like eBay might be closer to Bitcoin adoptation than we thought.

[kokoarm]

Great news. Lets say Bitcoin in a year from now represents 10% of ebay sales - that would be about 1.6Billion dollars of BTC going through paypal each year.

The demand for BTC to use as a currency on ebay could push the price up to double what it is today?

If there is then broader acceptance with the real-world stores taking btc on their online sites then we could see 5-10k per coin in a year from now?

[RVienz]

if ebay accept a digital currencies
i will try to buy bitcoin with bitcoin

a laugh for my friend

[SirWilliam]

Wow, incredibly positive. EBAY CEO owns Bitcoin and sees it inevitable that it will be integrated into EBAY and PAYPAL? CNBC talking about how serious the CEOs of major tech companies are about Bitcoin and how much they believe in it? The big B starting to get some major respect it seems...

http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000281677

[Musent]

They have been speculating for awhile now. Since they are making so much money on sales, they need this and would be idiotic to turn away.

[racht202]

It would be great if ebay starting taking bitcoin like overstock does.

[Pierre11]

Yes it's a very good new if Ebay accept sell cryptocurrency in all the country of the world.

[bitsmichel]

They got many bitcoin products in their stores, like mining hardware.  It could increase the profit for eBay, so its a good move 

[jambola2]

You guys need to listen closely.

"At Paypal we will have to integrate digital currencies into our wallet"

NOT EBAY , BUT PAYPAL ITSELF !
What is going to happen to the anti-paypal stuff now ?

[kokoarm]

Once they start paying tax on these coins Governments around the world are going to become more accepting of digital currency.

[bryant.coleman]

This is not the first time that he is making positive remarks about Bitcoin. But the most important question is whether he has the support of the majority of the board members or not. 

[vaporker]

You guys need to listen closely.

"At Paypal we will have to integrate digital currencies into our wallet"

NOT EBAY , BUT PAYPAL ITSELF !
What is going to happen to the anti-paypal stuff now ?

I was wondering myself...why would it need to be integrated with Paypal? He also mentions peer 2 peer transactions afterwards.

[Guido]

awesome

[RodeoX]

Now if we can get MySpace and America Online we can have an internet do-over with bitcoin.
 

[hardshot]

Now if we can get MySpace and America Online we can have an internet do-over with bitcoin.
 

MySpace? Isn't that dead already?

[Mageant]

I wonder if Ebay/Paypal accepting Bitcoin will kick off the next price bubble?

[Ron~Popeil]

Nice! I am no fan of paypal and would never use it again but This is good news for bit coin. This snow ball is starting to roll.

[minimalB]

Ebay CEO is talking about Bitcoin for a long time now and nothing happened... however, they are more and more open about integrating it into paypal... my guess is  __/   <- graph : )

[🏰 TradeFortress 🏰]

Hello,

An unauthorised account activity claim was recently filed against the following comment:

Buyer's Name: John Donahoe
Transaction ID: 83EFE832749EC482

Tranaction date: 5 Jun 2013
Transaction description: "We will have to integrate digital currencies"

[Meuh6879]

crap, an other bump of price ... 

[DolanDuck]

Overstock, Dish, Apple and now (perhaps) ebay, this year will end in an explosion of the bitcoin value in my opinion.

[jjc326]

Wow things are really rolling back in the positive for Bitcoin.  First it was all the negative news about China but that seems to be in the past now, things looking up...it all goes in waves, cycles...

[BittBurger]

[beetcoin]

i only care in that it will affect the price of bitcoin.. i don't care in that i wouldn't use ebay even if they did integrate bitcoin. fuck them.

[LiteCoinGuy]

big news, one more   

[Beliathon]

GG fiat, you just lost the game.

[scribbles]

Looking for a bump to value once eBay/PayPal adds to the momentum! 

http://www.c[Suspicious link removed]m/id/101734293

[Ron~Popeil]

i only care in that it will affect the price of bitcoin.. i don't care in that i wouldn't use ebay even if they did integrate bitcoin. fuck them.

Don't mince words. What do you really think? 

[Cranky4u]

Time to start dollar averaging purchase program again 

[lihuajkl]

I wonder if Ebay/Paypal accepting Bitcoin will kick off the next price bubble?

After that, more people will accept BTC as a currency, and will buy and hold it. The trading volume will increase more than double than today.It will be difficult for any one or company to control the price, which will be more stable than today.

[p2pbucks]

 No ,don't do this , let's do a competation ,see who will stand last 

[hellscabane]

This is very positive for Bitcoin; however, just because the CEO holds a certain sentiment, it doesn't necessarily mean that the company will have to follow suit. Like it has been mentioned, lobbying to the company's board is an entirely different situation.

That said, I think the board should be lobbied to; that would actually be a much bigger step than stating it in some sort of press release.

[Ron~Popeil]

This is very positive for Bitcoin; however, just because the CEO holds a certain sentiment, it doesn't necessarily mean that the company will have to follow suit. Like it has been mentioned, lobbying to the company's board is an entirely different situation.

That said, I think the board should be lobbied to; that would actually be a much bigger step than stating it in some sort of press release.

If there is money to be made they will get in line. That is the nature of commerce.

[beetcoin]

This is very positive for Bitcoin; however, just because the CEO holds a certain sentiment, it doesn't necessarily mean that the company will have to follow suit. Like it has been mentioned, lobbying to the company's board is an entirely different situation.

That said, I think the board should be lobbied to; that would actually be a much bigger step than stating it in some sort of press release.

If there is money to be made they will get in line. That is the nature of commerce.

or they could protect their current business model by getting lobbyists to go against bitcoin.

[Beliathon]

This is very positive for Bitcoin; however, just because the CEO holds a certain sentiment, it doesn't necessarily mean that the company will have to follow suit. Like it has been mentioned, lobbying to the company's board is an entirely different situation.

That said, I think the board should be lobbied to; that would actually be a much bigger step than stating it in some sort of press release.

If there is money to be made they will get in line. That is the nature of commerce.

or they could protect their current business model by getting lobbyists to go against bitcoin.

Sure, they could do this. For awhile.

Look how long Blockbuster held out against the one-two punch of piracy* [sic] and Netflix! Oh wait, they crashed and burned hard. Nevermind.

*Non-slander term = digital culture sharing.

[Ron~Popeil]

This is very positive for Bitcoin; however, just because the CEO holds a certain sentiment, it doesn't necessarily mean that the company will have to follow suit. Like it has been mentioned, lobbying to the company's board is an entirely different situation.

That said, I think the board should be lobbied to; that would actually be a much bigger step than stating it in some sort of press release.

If there is money to be made they will get in line. That is the nature of commerce.

or they could protect their current business model by getting lobbyists to go against bitcoin.

That would be a very short sighted way to go about it. Beliathon's Blockbuster example is spot on. Adapt to a changing world or go the way of the dinosaurs.

[hellscabane]

This is very positive for Bitcoin; however, just because the CEO holds a certain sentiment, it doesn't necessarily mean that the company will have to follow suit. Like it has been mentioned, lobbying to the company's board is an entirely different situation.

That said, I think the board should be lobbied to; that would actually be a much bigger step than stating it in some sort of press release.

If there is money to be made they will get in line. That is the nature of commerce.

or they could protect their current business model by getting lobbyists to go against bitcoin.

That would be a very short sighted way to go about it. Beliathon's Blockbuster example is spot on. Adapt to a changing world or go the way of the dinosaurs.

I agree that lobbying against it would be very short-sighted but other companies have already started the cogs rolling in that direction (i.e. Mastercard). Naturally adopting new, up-and-coming technologies is the way to go.

There is one key difference between Blockbuster and eBay: their business models are predicated on completely different things. As long as traditional credit and fiat transfers are viable, I think eBay is safe. And frankly, there isn't any particularly substantive reason to believe that will change anytime soon.

Like I said, lobbying it to a business board (especially one in a company like eBay) would at least start a discussion among business big-wigs.

[Finchy]

This is very positive for Bitcoin; however, just because the CEO holds a certain sentiment, it doesn't necessarily mean that the company will have to follow suit. Like it has been mentioned, lobbying to the company's board is an entirely different situation.

That said, I think the board should be lobbied to; that would actually be a much bigger step than stating it in some sort of press release.

If there is money to be made they will get in line. That is the nature of commerce.

or they could protect their current business model by getting lobbyists to go against bitcoin.

That would be a very short sighted way to go about it. Beliathon's Blockbuster example is spot on. Adapt to a changing world or go the way of the dinosaurs.

It's same with any service, but this is what I like about bitcoin as it's seriously going to make businesses like PayPal and ebay change their ways.

[Ron~Popeil]

This is very positive for Bitcoin; however, just because the CEO holds a certain sentiment, it doesn't necessarily mean that the company will have to follow suit. Like it has been mentioned, lobbying to the company's board is an entirely different situation.

That said, I think the board should be lobbied to; that would actually be a much bigger step than stating it in some sort of press release.

If there is money to be made they will get in line. That is the nature of commerce.

or they could protect their current business model by getting lobbyists to go against bitcoin.

That would be a very short sighted way to go about it. Beliathon's Blockbuster example is spot on. Adapt to a changing world or go the way of the dinosaurs.

I agree that lobbying against it would be very short-sighted but other companies have already started the cogs rolling in that direction (i.e. Mastercard). Naturally adopting new, up-and-coming technologies is the way to go.

There is one key difference between Blockbuster and eBay: their business models are predicated on completely different things. As long as traditional credit and fiat transfers are viable, I think eBay is safe. And frankly, there isn't any particularly substantive reason to believe that will change anytime soon.

Like I said, lobbying it to a business board (especially one in a company like eBay) would at least start a discussion among business big-wigs.

Absolutely. Once the herd mentality sets in things are going to get fun.

[Honeypot]

ebaycoin (EBC).

ALL MY MONEY.

[Finchy]

"we will have to" but when? I think they know there's a good chance bitcoin will start chipping away at their business and hopefully eventually start to swallow it whole.

[thelopper]

Yes Bitcoin and crypto in general is getting more main stream media attention. The price has been rising with companies like Dish getting into the crypto game. If Americans understand what capital controls are then this may help the price quite a bit. This article is a bit old at this point but still reliant. http://www.zerohedge.com/article/its-official-america-now-enforces-capital-controls.

[BitPhotos]

very exciting news! i hope ebay takes bitcoin! it would make life easier! lol

[Mudd]

He says digital currencies. I wonder if that means more than just bitcoin?

[beetcoin]

He says digital currencies. I wonder if that means more than just bitcoin?

it could be, but i dont think anyone would really want an ebaycoin. it doesn't have the infrastrucutre or support that anyone would want.

[thelopper]

No matter what form the digital currency is in be prepared to pay ebay 10% of each purchase, paypal 3% of each purchase and whatever currency transaction fee they feel is appropriate. This will most likely be pushed onto the seller which means the buyer will pay it. I am curious to see how it is implemented though.

[beetcoin]

No matter what form the digital currency is in be prepared to pay ebay 10% of each purchase, paypal 3% of each purchase and whatever currency transaction fee they feel is appropriate. This will most likely be pushed onto the seller which means the buyer will pay it. I am curious to see how it is implemented though.

how could it be justified that paypal even be used with bitcoin? btc circumvents what paypal provides.

[Melbustus]

No matter what form the digital currency is in be prepared to pay ebay 10% of each purchase, paypal 3% of each purchase and whatever currency transaction fee they feel is appropriate. This will most likely be pushed onto the seller which means the buyer will pay it. I am curious to see how it is implemented though.

how could it be justified that paypal even be used with bitcoin? btc circumvents what paypal provides.

Because they'll escrow the transaction, just like they do now. It will indeed be interesting to see what PayPal's fee structure for bitcoin transactions ends up being...

FWIW, I think eBay/PP is genuinely realizing that virtual currencies are/will-be a big deal, and they don't want to turn out to be Blockbuster. So they need to start building experience/trust in the virtual currency domain now.

Incidentally, PayPal's original vision was as a liberating online money system that would free people worldwide from reckless governments' monetary systems. They just didn't have the formula right (ie, they're a centralized entity), and so they ended up fully integrated into the existing monetary ecosystem instead. If they do integrate bitcoin and bitcoin payment volume becomes meaningful for them, they'll have come full circle. Peter Thiel will probably smile at that.

[Este Nuno]

PayPal integrating bitcoin in to it's wallet system would probably the biggest single step for bitcoin on the path to main stream acceptance. If they add BTC alongside USD, GBP, EUR that would be fantastic. If you could buy BTC through PayPal it would be a huge gain for bitcoin in terms of easy access for the average person.

He really did sound excited and ready to deal with the reality and the challenge of this new form of money. I have to give him credit for that. That's exactly the sort of attitude I would expect a good CEO to have.

[beetcoin]

No matter what form the digital currency is in be prepared to pay ebay 10% of each purchase, paypal 3% of each purchase and whatever currency transaction fee they feel is appropriate. This will most likely be pushed onto the seller which means the buyer will pay it. I am curious to see how it is implemented though.

how could it be justified that paypal even be used with bitcoin? btc circumvents what paypal provides.

Because they'll escrow the transaction, just like they do now. It will indeed be interesting to see what PayPal's fee structure for bitcoin transactions ends up being...

FWIW, I think eBay/PP is genuinely realizing that virtual currencies are/will-be a big deal, and they don't want to turn out to be Blockbuster. So they need to start building experience/trust in the virtual currency domain now.

Incidentally, PayPal's original vision was as a liberating online money system that would free people worldwide from reckless governments' monetary systems. They just didn't have the formula right (ie, they're a centralized entity), and so they ended up fully integrated into the existing monetary ecosystem instead. If they do integrate bitcoin and bitcoin payment volume becomes meaningful for them, they'll have come full circle. Peter Thiel will probably smile at that.

well, i hope so.. we'd have a juggernaut who would be willing to protect bitcoin, even if thye are mainly concerned with their own interests.. it would still line up with ours.

[Meuh6879]

If they add BTC alongside USD, GBP, EUR that would be fantastic.

i use paypal because of the ESCROW option ... if paypal "transform" BTC in FIAT money during the payment, it's useless.
because, when ESCROW is activate, and BTC raise, i don't retrieve BTC but only FIAT money.

[moriartybitcoin]

Bitcoin heading to $1000 fast if ebay/paypal integrate

[BittBurger]

I kept telling people not to overanalyze his words but then I saw the interview in written format.

And he intentionally says "Digital Currencies" twice, when asked directly about Bitcoin.

Digital currencies is way more syllables, and much harder to say than just "Bitcoin".  So the fact that he intentionally used that phrase .... twice .... means he was resisting saying Bitcoin.

it wasn't until the interviewer asked him point blank how long before Ebay PayPal incorporate Bitcoin?

And still even then he didnt answer directly.  He said "There will  be use cases for Bitcoin ... like remittances ... transfer of funds ... you'll see Bitcoin in a lot of these markets"  (accurate paraphrase)

He didnt answer the question, nor did he state that Bitcoin is going to be the digital currency PayPal uses.

When asked if he owns any, he said yes just to see how it works.  A necessary step to creating your own digital currency.

Not trying to be a debbie downer, but CEO's talk very intentionally most of the time, and he never once said Ebay / PayPal would be using Bitcoin itself.

-B-

[Ron~Popeil]

I kept telling people not to overanalyze his words but then I saw the interview in written format.

And he intentionally says "Digital Currencies" twice, when asked directly about Bitcoin.

Digital currencies is way more syllables, and much harder to say than just "Bitcoin".  So the fact that he intentionally used that phrase .... twice .... means he was resisting saying Bitcoin.

it wasn't until the interviewer asked him point blank how long before Ebay PayPal incorporate Bitcoin?

And still even then he didnt answer directly.  He said "There will  be use cases for Bitcoin ... like remittances ... transfer of funds ... you'll see Bitcoin in a lot of these markets"  (accurate paraphrase)

He didnt answer the question, nor did he state that Bitcoin is going to be the digital currency PayPal uses.

When asked if he owns any, he said yes just to see how it works.  A necessary step to creating your own digital currency.

Not trying to be a debbie downer, but CEO's talk very intentionally most of the time, and he never once said Ebay / PayPal would be using Bitcoin itself.

-B-

Good luck promoting e-bay or paypal coin if that is the way they go. Bit coin will crush them eventually anyway. 

[Este Nuno]

I kept telling people not to overanalyze his words but then I saw the interview in written format.

And he intentionally says "Digital Currencies" twice, when asked directly about Bitcoin.

Digital currencies is way more syllables, and much harder to say than just "Bitcoin".  So the fact that he intentionally used that phrase .... twice .... means he was resisting saying Bitcoin.

it wasn't until the interviewer asked him point blank how long before Ebay PayPal incorporate Bitcoin?

And still even then he didnt answer directly.  He said "There will  be use cases for Bitcoin ... like remittances ... transfer of funds ... you'll see Bitcoin in a lot of these markets"  (accurate paraphrase)

He didnt answer the question, nor did he state that Bitcoin is going to be the digital currency PayPal uses.

When asked if he owns any, he said yes just to see how it works.  A necessary step to creating your own digital currency.

Not trying to be a debbie downer, but CEO's talk very intentionally most of the time, and he never once said Ebay / PayPal would be using Bitcoin itself.

-B-

Offering BTC alongside other currencies is completely in line with what an online wallet service like PayPal offers. Of course he can't make any definitive statements, but him saying that he owns some bitcoin to understand how it works is a very strong statement.

[CryptoKilla]

That is great news! I think they almost have to adopt bitcoin simply due to the fact that they don't want to gl get left behind. Get in before it's too late!

[Ron~Popeil]

That is great news! I think they almost have to adopt bitcoin simply due to the fact that they don't want to gl get left behind. Get in before it's too late!

Adapt or go the way of the dinosaurs. First the internet then the brick and mortar businesses.

[allthingsluxury]

The trend is clear, ebay will have to adjust to be left behind.

[CoolBliss]

Interesting that he said "Digital Currencies" and not just "Bitcoin".

[NotAtOld]

And all currencies are digital today anyways. I've heard something like only 1% of the dollar exists as physical. Paypal is literally digital currency and this dude says that they have to integrate digital currencies...

[TEDmachine]

So would the buyer use bitcoin and the seller get dollars, or vice-versa?
Ebay really only needs to verify that the transaction happened. I don't see how Paypal would enter in to the equation. Seller provides a receive address, Ebay confirms that the correct amount went to it...

[TEDmachine]

The biggest change is that the seller, not the buyer, might be scamming, but they already have a rating system for this.

[ljudotina]

Ppl that think that PayPal is afraid of Bitcoin are so wrong. Bitcoin can help PayPal ALOT. Fees that PayPal have are effect of banks / credit cards + paypal profit. With Bitcoin, PayPal can exclude banks and credit card companys and use that extra money to lower their own fees and make same amount of money or even more.
First thing ppl say: "why would anyone use PayPal if they have Bitcoin?" Answer is simple enough: "Buyers protection". Just like with fiat, PayPal will hold BTC (transfered into fiat) on them and payout seller only if transaction executes well. Basicly, they become largest BTC escow service.

[CEG5952]

Cryptocurrency protocol will likely eventually be part of the underlying infrastructure of financial institutions. I certainly think it will be integrated into Paypal eventually.