PayPal Considering Accepting Bitcoins
posted Saturday May 4, 2013 by Scott Ertz
Bitcoin has had a strange, seedy and difficult start, with hundreds of thousands of dollars easily stolen from digital wallets in several different thefts. Add to that the relative inability to transfer Bitcoins into real good and services, it has not really been a safe or lucrative place to be.
All of that might be about to change, however, as PayPal CEO John Donahoe has said he is considering implementing Bitcoin as a valid payment option through the service. For people involved in the Bitcoin process, it would mean a way to convert to real money without the need to drive to sketchy places to find one of their currency exchanges.
The biggest problem with Bitcoin, other than its security, is its volatility. Last month, for example, the value ranged from $50 to $266. In addition, the legitimacy of the currency is still a little in question. The US Treasury Department had originally considered declaring the currency invalid has, instead, considered it a money-order, which makes it less a currency and more a transfer method.
That being said, a transfer method with no stability in value can cause a lot of problems. By teaming up with PayPal, however, the value could level out some, with retailers being able to accept the payment without having to know anything about the methods. Once Bitcoins are in actual play, the value would stabilize dramatically.
So, the real question is, does it matter? Would you get involved in the Bitcoin world if PayPal were involved with it? Let us know in the comments.
