PayPal Announces First Partnerships in Bitcoin Space

Pete Rizzo (@pete_rizzo_) | Published on September 23, 2014 at 18:19 BST

PayPal has announced partnerships with the three largest payment processors in the bitcoin space – BitPay, Coinbase and GoCoin.
Though the online e-commerce pioneer stopped short of integrating bitcoin into its digital wallet or payment processing services directly, the move marks PayPal’s first formal offering to the bitcoin community.
In a blog post penned by senior director of corporate strategy Scott Ellison, PayPal revealed that online merchants will now be able to accept bitcoin via all three companies through its PayPal Payments Hub, its product that enables customers to accept credit cards, mobile carrier payments and other payment methods through a single integration.
Ellison lauded BitPay, Coinbase and GoCoin for their commitment to ensuring consumer protections on their platforms, while suggesting that the offering will appeal to a number of its key customer groups, writing:

“We believe digital goods merchants will be excited to work with these industry-leading companies to sell ringtones, games and music and get paid with bitcoin.”

Notably, the announcement follows the decision of PayPal subsidiary Braintree to partner with Coinbase earlier this month.
PayPal is available in 193 markets and 26 currencies. With 143 million active registered accounts and $6.6bn in revenue at the end of 2013, the e-commerce giant brings the potential for new users and new business to the bitcoin economy.

Embracing innovation

Ellison went on to suggest that PayPal is committed to embracing innovation, and that this has lead to its early support of bitcoin. Further, he suggested the company will be monitoring its first formal bitcoin trial to assess how it moves forward with the payment method, writing:

“We’re proceeding gradually, supporting bitcoin in some ways today and holding off on other ways until we see how things develop.”

PayPal cited its commitment to allowing businesses freedom of choice and promoting safer buying experiences as key reasons for its decision.
BitPay, Coinbase and GoCoin will pay a referral fee to PayPal for new business they gain through the platform, meaning their existing pricing structures will be unaffected by the move.

Support for select business models

Ellison framed the decision as the latest way PayPal is seeking to support the bitcoin ecosystem, pointing to its past efforts to help companies in the bitcoin mining space accept PayPal for their products.
However, Ellison suggested that PayPal is conscious of the controversies that have dominated this segment of the bitcoin industry, and that its support will continue for merchants that meet certain criteria, writing:

“To safeguard customers, we’ve decided not to work with merchants who pre-sell these products. This is consistent with our approach to pre-sales of other goods; we hold off anytime we determine that pre-selling may not provide a good buyer experience.”

In recent months, a number of bitcoin mining companies, including early and current market leaders such as Butterfly Labs and CoinTerra have faced lawsuits from customers for failing to deliver equipment on advertised timelines.

Addressing security concerns

In his statements, Ellison also suggested that PayPal has been monitoring conversation surrounding how bitcoin will be regulated, clarifying that PayPal will only seek to work with bitcoin companies that offer certain consumer protections.
Reitterating that PayPal needs to follow local laws and regulations in every market it serves, Eillson wrote:

“For this reason, virtual currency exchangers and administrators interested in working with PayPal in the future must secure the appropriate licenses and put anti-money laundering procedures in place.”

At the time, PayPal also suggested it is only seeking to promote bitcoin, stating that while other cryptocurrencies have been available for some time “only bitcoin has achieved significant scale” in the payments space to date.
Images via PayPal

Bitbillions Early Pool Share Payouts

Bitbillions Early Pool Share Payouts

As we get close to the last quarter of 2014, we want to ramp up excitement for the Matrix Launch. We also want to help you grow your business so you can maximize your earnings when the Matrix goes live in January 2015. Therefore, we decided the best way would be to announce early Pool Share payouts.
As of September 1, 2014, all points are now worth money!
As you know, when the Matrix is live, you will earn from three sources: Profit Pools, Matrix Bonus, Direct Referral Bonus (see the Compensation Plan for details). We will phase into full-scale pool share payouts over the last 3 months of 2104. This will prepare the entire membership for monthly profit sharing when the Matrix is live. Before we explain this incredible opportunity we want to make sure you clearly understand this is only the Profit Pool payouts. This is not early payouts on the Matrix Bonus or Direct Referral Bonus.
For the last three months of 2014, on October 15th, November 15th, and December 15th, we will payout compensation based on a portion of each pool. The amount we will reserve for payouts each month is as follows:

• Founders Pool: 1 bitcoin
• Co-Founders Pool: 1 bitcoin
• Members Pool: 2 bitcoins

Founder members will earn from the Founders Pool, the Co-Founders Pool, and the Members Pool.
Co-Founder members will earn from the Co-Founders Pool and the Members Pool.
Free Members will earn from the Members Pool.
The payout on October 15th will be based on the total accumulated points from the beginning of bitbillions through September 30th, 2014. We expect this first payout to be an EXTREMELY SMALL payout for every member. Why? Because there are around 35 MILLION points accumulated by all members. So, if you divide 2 bitcoins by 35 million, it naturally will be a very small number.
The payouts from November 15th onward will be based ONLY on the points earned in the prior month, exactly like payouts will function when the Matrix launches. We expect them to be EXPONENTIALLY BIGGER than the payout in October.
As you can see, this plan accomplishes a few important things. First, it wipes out the massively accumulated 35 MILLION points in our membership, while preserving the bulk of the pool shares for the Matrix launch. Second, it allows members to become accustomed to Pool Share payouts based upon the prior month’s points. Third, it allows us to EXPONENTIALLY increase the value of each point at the Matrix launch.
To help you understand the payouts and projections for the Matrix, we modified the Transparency page. In the “Pools Summary” section, you will now see a summary for each month (SEP, OCT, NOV) and the projected payouts the following month (OCT, NOV, DEC). You will also see a “Matrix Launch Pools” summary that projects the point values and payouts using the remaining balance of coins in each pool divided by ONLY the prior month’s points. As we progress toward the launch, you will have a very accurate picture of what each point will be worth heading into 2015.
Start getting those points! They are now worth MONEY! Spread the word and let your referrals know. EVERY member (free, Co-Founder, or Founder) is earning MONEY for their points now.

PayPal Video Sparks Rumors About Potential Bitcoin Plans

Tom Sharkey (@tom_sharkey) | Published on September 8, 2014 at 19:05 BST

PayPal has sparked speculation in the wider digital currency community with the release of a new promotional video that makes reference to bitcoin.
The video, titled ‘PayPal Voices’, was published on the company’s official YouTube page today.
The one-minute promo features a string of actors who are described as “the voices of the people economy”, extolling the benefits of using PayPal. Bitcoin is mentioned just 10 seconds into the video in the following voiceover passage:

“Our phone is our wallet. We can spend bitcoin with a tap, without a pocket.”

The news provides the latest evidence that either the eBay-owned company or its mobile payment processing subsidiary Braintree might move to integrate bitcoin into an upcoming project.
First reported by The Wall Street Journal this August, such speculation was given yet another boost today in an article by Re/code that suggested Braintree’s announcement may come as soon as today.
Braintree was acquired by PayPal in September 2013. PayPal itself is a subsidiary of eBay, one of the largest e-commerce companies on the web. Outspoken bitcoin advocate Marc Andreessen sits on the board of eBay.

Speculation mounts

At the time of writing, PayPal’s only reference to bitcoin integration is the excerpt from the video.
Still, speculation has run rampant, with more than 400 comments about the video splattered across YouTube and reddit.
Notable bitcoin investor and SecondMarket executive chairman Barry Silbert has joined in discussing the significance of the video:

More information needed

Details are still sparse, and even if the video is proven to be authentic, it’s not entirely clear what plans PayPal has for the digital currency.
While the video does not necessarily mean that PayPal will integrate with bitcoin, the timing of both Re/code’s news and the video raises many questions.
The bitcoin community has been vocal about the relationship between PayPal and bitcoin in the past. Many argue that the digital nature of bitcoin lends itself perfectly to PayPal’s business model, while others contend that bitcoin doesn’t need the support of a centralized platform to flourish.
Whatever the case may be, a PayPal-bitcoin integration would certainly shake up the industry and bring the digital currency significantly more visibility with the general public.
CoinDesk is continuing to follow this developing story. At press time, neither PayPal nor Braintree had responded to requests for comment.
Image credit: Denys Prykhodov / Shutterstock.com

PayStand Releases Bitcoin Plugin for WordPress Merchants

Pete Rizzo (@pete_rizzo_) | Published on September 4, 2014 at 15:01 BST

PayStand has released an e-commerce plugin for WooCommerce that will give WordPress merchants a new way to accept bitcoin.
With the news, PayStand joins BitPay to become the latest bitcoin payments processor to integrate its services with WooCommerce. The free e-commerce toolkit is a popular method for WordPress websites to accept payments.
Speaking to CoinDesk, PayStand CEO Jeremy Almond suggested that his company’s solution could offer a more attractive option to WordPress merchants who are testing the waters with the cryptocurrency.
In addition to bitcoin, PayStand allows merchants to accept credit cards and e-checks, features that Almond said will enable his company’s plugin to find a unique audience.
Almond told CoinDesk:

“Cards aren’t going away tomorrow. [...] We can go to a WordPress merchant and say, ‘Here’s an offering where you can still take cards and electronic checks, but you can offer something that is free for transactions.’ [Bitcoin is] global and it solves a lot of problems around payments.”

PayStand’s news is the latest in a series of developments involving the wider WordPress community and bitcoin.
In November 2012, WordPress itself announced that it would allow customers to buy upgrades using BitPay. The development is often cited as a milestone for bitcoin’s merchant processing community, as the platform was one of the first major brands to endorse digital currency.

Meeting developer needs

Almond stressed that his company’s WooCommerce plugin tool aims to appeal to both novice business owners and more established developers looking to integrate a bitcoin payments offering into their website.
Framing his new offering as flexible to the needs of both demographics, he said:

“Our process is very simple, one click of a button you can install the product, so it’s not very complicated, you don’t need developers to do it, you can have credit card processing right next to it. You can turn it on and turn it off, it’s very easy to use.”

Established developers, in turn, will be able to use PayStand’s API to build out more extensive and unique solutions, Almond added.

Bitcoin key to business model

The CEO went on to brand the offering as a natural fit for his company given that WooCommerce is one of the most used shopping cart toolkits, and that WordPress powers one in five e-commerce websites.
He told CoinDesk:

“Our business ultimately wants to see bitcoin thrive, so going places like WordPress and other mainstream areas where we can continue to get your everyday merchant aware and able to take payments and that’s a key goal for us.”

While PayStand offers multiple payment options, Almond stressed that the company simply wants to serve as a bridge to emerging payment types.
Though he declined to offer specific figures, Almond said he has been pleased so far with the number of PayStand merchants that have enabled the company’s bitcoin payment option since his service launched in April.
He concluded:

“Our goal is to build a bridge from traditional to next-generation payments, and I think our strategy is working for our merchants.”

Images via WordPress and Shutterstock