On eBay right now, you can buy a Complete Cryptocurrency GPU Mining Rig for $2,586, or a “Just Hodl” (a bitcoin inside joke) hoodie for $33.99, or a “collectible bitcoin gift coin” for 99 cents. There are hundreds of bitcoin-related items, but you can’t pay in bitcoin. Yet.
Scott Cutler, senior vice president of eBay Americas, told Yahoo Finance in an interview this week that the online retailer is “seriously considering” accepting bitcoin, but “we’re not quite there yet.”
Not many retailers accept cryptocurrency as payment, but for one that does accept bitcoin, it’s been a boost to shares. Overstock.com (OSTK) is up more than 250% in the last six months, as it rides the bitcoin phenomenon. The web retailer is a pioneer in the cryptocurrency space, as it became the first major retailer to accept bitcoin in early 2014.
Payments in bitcoin aren’t exactly becoming commonplace, but they are slowly becoming more common: even a New York City preschool is accepting bitcoin for tuition. At some point in November, mobile-payments company Square (SQ) quietly rolled out a new feature to a small number of users on its Square Cash app: the ability to buy and hold bitcoin. Square CEO Jack Dorsey (also CEO of Twitter) told Yahoo Finance in October, “There’s nothing more impactful to our business than digital currency.”
As for eBay, it is currently focused on delivering a strong holiday season, as it tries to compete with Amazon. The retailer is working on expanding its offerings, shipping times, and return process.