The renowned e-commerce multinational eBay is considering the possibility of accepting payments in Bitcoins and cryptocurrencies. Although this goal has not yet been reached, the company’s senior vice president, Scott Cutler, said that they would be “seriously considering” this possibility.
(Scott Cutler (right) being interview by Jen Rogers (left), source: Yahoo Finance)
Through a Yahoo Finance interview he commented:
“This is a trend that everybody is talking about, but sadly, at eBay, we don’t currently accept Bitcoin as a form of payment (…) we’re seriously considering it as these cryptocurrencies become more of a mainstream payment instrument, but we’re not quite there yet.”
Scott Cutler.
eBay for Americas Senior Vice President.
In the eBay platform, you can find many items that have to do with Bitcoin and the blockchain industry but they do not accept Bitcoin as a payment method just yet. On eBay, you can get anything from mining RIGS for $1,900, to a collectible or decorative Physical Bitcoin coin for $0.99.
(A physical Bitcoin post offer on eBay Platform, source: eBay)
If eBay implemented Bitcoin as a payment mechanism, they would be added to an exclusive list of companies that accept such cryptocurrency as a payment method. Among the list of recognized companies that have accepted Bitcoin as a payment method, we can find the following list:
Overstock.com: became the first major retailer to accept Bitcoin in early 2014, being a pioneer in the cryptographic world. Many do not accept the risk but Overstock has grown up to 250%, driven by the growth of cryptocurrencies. They have on their website a step by step guide on how to make a purchase with Bitcoin.
Newegg: is an online retailer of items including computer hardware and consumer electronics in the United States. It has also been a pioneer in accepting Bitcoin since 2014 and its growth has been so rapid that this year Newegg has started operations in the majority of the countries of the European Union. Also, on their website they promote the payment in Bitcoins and explain step by step how to make payments in Bitcoins, they say that when making payments in Bitcoins, the purchase is immediately dispatched, unlike the payments in debit and credit card where in some cases confirmation from the financial institution should be expected for security reasons.
(Newegg explains how to buy whit Bitcoin, source: Newegg)
Steam: is a digital distribution platform, which offers digital rights management (DRM), multiplayer gaming, video streaming and social networking services. Steam started accepting payments in Bitcoins in April 2016 but recently, due to the high transaction fees that came to surpass up to $20 and the incredible price changes in bitcoin, they decided to stop accepting this as a payment method.
Through Reddit, some users questioned the possibility that eBay accepts Bitcoins because the growth of Amazon has displaced eBay, where some commented that it is a free advertising strategy to take advantage of the association Bitcoin-eBay searches in the media. Others warned about the lack of relevance that Yahoo has as a source, predicting that despite these rumors Amazon could buy the company in about 5 years.
The transaction would work as follows: eBay would receive the cryptocurrencies from the buyer, discount the commission and send the rest of the payment to the seller, so that there is no real risk of loss, since they can reject any transaction in which it is not possible to quickly settle the payment by means of crypto assets for their rates.
If eBay made the decision to adopt Bitcoin as a payment method, it would be a positive news for the blockchain industry ecosystem, demonstrating the confidence of a pioneer and leader in e-commerce transactions with more than 20 years of experience, betting on the potential growth of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
