“Seriously Considering” Accepting Bitcoin, Says Senior VP of eBay
- With 2017 running out, is eBay's 2018 resolution to add Bitcoin support on the platform?

A ‘cryptocurrency mining rig’ for $3329, a ‘Bitcoin billionaire hoodie’ for $33 or a rare ‘Bitcoin paper wallet’ for $39? All these products are listed on eBay. With the rise of the new crypto economy, the online marketplace is flooded with some genuine and some really crappy cryptocurrency products. All you need to do is type “bitcoin” or “crypto” into the search bar to see the listings.
But one thing is still missing though. No matter how big a crypto enthusiast you are, you cannot pay with your precious bitcoins on the platform - yet.
If eBay starts accepting Bitcoin on its platform, it will be a huge development - eBay is one of the largest online marketplaces today. Recently, a rumor surfaced that Amazon was to start accepting Bitcoin. It turned out to be fake news. Across the world, Alibaba’s co-founder Jack Ma stated that the cryptocurrency is “not for me” as there is no government regulation for them.
Recently, Steam, an online gaming platform, stopped accepting Bitcoin citing the issue of high price Volatility Volatility In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Traders can be successful in both low and high volatile environments, but the strategies employed are often different depending upon volatility. Why Too Much Volatility is a ProblemIn the FX space, lower volatile currency pairs offer less surprises, and are suited to position traders.High volatile pairs are attractive for many day traders, due to quick and strong movements, offering the potential for higher profits, although the risk associated with such volatile pairs are many. Overall, a look at previous volatility tells us how likely price will fluctuate in the future, although it has nothing to do with direction.All a trader can gather from this is the understanding that the probability of a volatile pair to increase or decrease an X amount in a Y period of time, is more than the probability of a non-volatile pair. Another important factor is, volatility can and does change over time, and there can be periods when even highly volatile instruments show signs of flatness, with price not really making headway in either direction. Too little volatility is just as problematic for markets as too much, we uncertainty in excess can create panic and problems of liquidity. This was evident during Black Swan events or other crisis that have historically roiled currency and equity markets. In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Traders can be successful in both low and high volatile environments, but the strategies employed are often different depending upon volatility. Why Too Much Volatility is a ProblemIn the FX space, lower volatile currency pairs offer less surprises, and are suited to position traders.High volatile pairs are attractive for many day traders, due to quick and strong movements, offering the potential for higher profits, although the risk associated with such volatile pairs are many. Overall, a look at previous volatility tells us how likely price will fluctuate in the future, although it has nothing to do with direction.All a trader can gather from this is the understanding that the probability of a volatile pair to increase or decrease an X amount in a Y period of time, is more than the probability of a non-volatile pair. Another important factor is, volatility can and does change over time, and there can be periods when even highly volatile instruments show signs of flatness, with price not really making headway in either direction. Too little volatility is just as problematic for markets as too much, we uncertainty in excess can create panic and problems of liquidity. This was evident during Black Swan events or other crisis that have historically roiled currency and equity markets. Read this Term. But the business models of Steam and eBay are very different. Steam is a vendor whereas eBay is a marketplace. Steam needs to consider payment processing methods as they directly affect its business, but eBay only collects a fee for transactions on its platform. So for eBay it will be an easy process to implement Bitcoin support.
For businesses, the most prominent obstacles to implementing Bitcoin support is network delay and high transaction fees. Based on the current standards, Bitcoin’s network is not scalable at all, as large transactions takes a long time to process. High transaction fees are also keeping businesses away. After all, nobody wants to pay a $5 fee for a $20 purchase.
But despite all these shortcomings, the boom in the industry has led many businesses to accept Bitcoin as payment. Recently, APMEX, the leading online bullion dealer in the US, announced Bitcoin support on its platform. Other online platforms like Overstock and Newegg have been accepting Bitcoin for years. Even some schools are now taking the digital token as payment.
Anyway, it is still not clear what progress eBay has made towards accepting Bitcoin. But if it really implements crypto payment support it will be a huge step for both industries.
A ‘cryptocurrency mining rig’ for $3329, a ‘Bitcoin billionaire hoodie’ for $33 or a rare ‘Bitcoin paper wallet’ for $39? All these products are listed on eBay. With the rise of the new crypto economy, the online marketplace is flooded with some genuine and some really crappy cryptocurrency products. All you need to do is type “bitcoin” or “crypto” into the search bar to see the listings.
But one thing is still missing though. No matter how big a crypto enthusiast you are, you cannot pay with your precious bitcoins on the platform - yet.
If eBay starts accepting Bitcoin on its platform, it will be a huge development - eBay is one of the largest online marketplaces today. Recently, a rumor surfaced that Amazon was to start accepting Bitcoin. It turned out to be fake news. Across the world, Alibaba’s co-founder Jack Ma stated that the cryptocurrency is “not for me” as there is no government regulation for them.
Recently, Steam, an online gaming platform, stopped accepting Bitcoin citing the issue of high price Volatility Volatility In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Traders can be successful in both low and high volatile environments, but the strategies employed are often different depending upon volatility. Why Too Much Volatility is a ProblemIn the FX space, lower volatile currency pairs offer less surprises, and are suited to position traders.High volatile pairs are attractive for many day traders, due to quick and strong movements, offering the potential for higher profits, although the risk associated with such volatile pairs are many. Overall, a look at previous volatility tells us how likely price will fluctuate in the future, although it has nothing to do with direction.All a trader can gather from this is the understanding that the probability of a volatile pair to increase or decrease an X amount in a Y period of time, is more than the probability of a non-volatile pair. Another important factor is, volatility can and does change over time, and there can be periods when even highly volatile instruments show signs of flatness, with price not really making headway in either direction. Too little volatility is just as problematic for markets as too much, we uncertainty in excess can create panic and problems of liquidity. This was evident during Black Swan events or other crisis that have historically roiled currency and equity markets. In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Traders can be successful in both low and high volatile environments, but the strategies employed are often different depending upon volatility. Why Too Much Volatility is a ProblemIn the FX space, lower volatile currency pairs offer less surprises, and are suited to position traders.High volatile pairs are attractive for many day traders, due to quick and strong movements, offering the potential for higher profits, although the risk associated with such volatile pairs are many. Overall, a look at previous volatility tells us how likely price will fluctuate in the future, although it has nothing to do with direction.All a trader can gather from this is the understanding that the probability of a volatile pair to increase or decrease an X amount in a Y period of time, is more than the probability of a non-volatile pair. Another important factor is, volatility can and does change over time, and there can be periods when even highly volatile instruments show signs of flatness, with price not really making headway in either direction. Too little volatility is just as problematic for markets as too much, we uncertainty in excess can create panic and problems of liquidity. This was evident during Black Swan events or other crisis that have historically roiled currency and equity markets. Read this Term. But the business models of Steam and eBay are very different. Steam is a vendor whereas eBay is a marketplace. Steam needs to consider payment processing methods as they directly affect its business, but eBay only collects a fee for transactions on its platform. So for eBay it will be an easy process to implement Bitcoin support.
For businesses, the most prominent obstacles to implementing Bitcoin support is network delay and high transaction fees. Based on the current standards, Bitcoin’s network is not scalable at all, as large transactions takes a long time to process. High transaction fees are also keeping businesses away. After all, nobody wants to pay a $5 fee for a $20 purchase.
But despite all these shortcomings, the boom in the industry has led many businesses to accept Bitcoin as payment. Recently, APMEX, the leading online bullion dealer in the US, announced Bitcoin support on its platform. Other online platforms like Overstock and Newegg have been accepting Bitcoin for years. Even some schools are now taking the digital token as payment.
Anyway, it is still not clear what progress eBay has made towards accepting Bitcoin. But if it really implements crypto payment support it will be a huge step for both industries.