Get All Access for $5/mo

PayPal Unit Reportedly in Talks to Accept Bitcoin It's only a matter of time before eBay subsidiary Braintree begins accepting Bitcoin payments, but eBay and PayPal won't, at least not initially.

By Kim Lachance Shandrow

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Overstock.com. Dell. DISH Network. These are the latest big fish to embrace Bitcoin payments. And another one could soon be surfacing.

Officials from eBay's PayPal division are "in talks" with Coinbase Inc. and other Bitcoin payment processors to add the cryptocash to the list of of payments its PayPal payments subsidiary Braintree accepts, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Despite meeting with several Bitcoin payments processors in recent weeks, sources "familiar with the matter" told the Journal that a deal has yet to be reached.

Related: PayPal Is Cracking Down on Bitcoin Sellers

If one has been struck, eBay and Braintree aren't spilling the beans.

"We do believe that Bitcoin will play an important role in payments in the future but we have nothing to announce," Lisa Kornblatt, a Braintree representative, told Entrepreneur.com this morning.

Coinbase opted not to comment. The San Francisco-based Bitcoin exchange and wallet service currently facilitates Bitcoin payments for some 35,000 companies worldwide, including OKCupid, Overstock.com, Dell, DISH Network, Reddit and Square.

Related: Sotheby's Joins Up With eBay to Bring Rarified Fine Art to Digital Masses

The news, music to Bitcoin proponents' ears, doesn't exactly come as a surprise. eBay CEO John Donahoe dropped hints at the company's annual shareholder meeting last May that it was getting more serious about Bitcoin. He lauded Bitcoin as "a new, exciting technology," saying it "will play a very important role in the future." Donahoe wasn't sure how, he said, but indicated that eBay was considering ways it "could combine bitcoin with its PayPal system."

The Journal's unnamed sources said eBay and PayPal might eventually accept Bitcoin, though not initially. Who knows? If an agreement is reached, perhaps Uber and Airbnb will soon, the Journal hypothesized.

Braintree, a Chicago-based company acquired by eBay for $800 million last September, provides the checkout rails that both hot, app-based tech firms use to accept mobile payments. OpenTable, LivingSocial, Hotel Tonight, Basecamp, TaskRabbit and GitHub are also Braintree clients. Perhaps they'll all jump on the Bitcoin payments bandwagon, too, when eBay does via Braintree. We'll have to wait and see.

Related: This Company Is Now the Largest in the World to Accept Bitcoin

Meanwhile, many merchants already accepting Bitcoin aren't receiving a ton of payments in the digital currency, according to a New York Times report published yesterday.

DISH, however, took in its first-ever Bitcoin payment just yesterday, its inaugural day accepting them, from a newlywed couple that has abandoned using all forms of currency with the exception of the cryptocurrency. DISH representative John Hall told CoinDesk that "it's too early to tell" how many of its subscribers will follow in Austin and Beccy Craig's footsteps. He expects Bitcoin payments to "start slow and go from there."

Related: Nation's Top Consumer Watchdog Warns of Bitcoin's Dangers

Kim Lachance Shandrow

Former West Coast Editor

Kim Lachance Shandrow is the former West Coast editor at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was a commerce columnist at Los Angeles CityBeat, a news producer at MSNBC and KNBC in Los Angeles and a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times. She has also written for Government Technology magazine, LA Yoga magazine, the Lowell Sun newspaper, HealthCentral.com, PsychCentral.com and the former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Coop. Follow her on Twitter at @Lashandrow. You can also follow her on Facebook here

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Starting a Business

He Started a Business That Surpassed $100 Million in Under 3 Years: 'Consistent Revenue Right Out of the Gate'

Ryan Close, founder and CEO of Bartesian, had run a few small businesses on the side — but none of them excited him as much as the idea for a home cocktail machine.

Franchise

The Top 10 Coffee Franchises in 2024

From a classic cup of joe to a creamy latte, grab your favorite mug and get ready to brew up success with the best coffee franchises.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Marketing

How Small Businesses Can Leverage Dark Social to Drive Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Dark social accounts for 70% of social media shares and is crucial for small businesses. Here's how you can tap into this hidden marketing opportunity.

Business News

'Jaw-Dropping Performance in 2024,' Says a Senior Analyst as Nvidia Reports Earnings

Nvidia reported its highly-anticipated third-quarter earnings on Wednesday.

Business News

'Do You Sell Cars?': Tesla CEO Elon Musk Trolls Jaguar Rebrand on X

The team running Jaguar's X account was working hard on social media this week.