This must be a grim month for Paypal. On March 1st, they filed for a (minor) patent for the very technology likely to render them completely obsolete. It feels a little like farriers ("a specialist in equine hoof care, including the...placing of shoes on their hooves") around the world in 1920 re-tooling their anvils to do muffler alterations.
Like most patents, it's both boring and technical. The gist of it is they are patenting a technology to complete transactions between two end users by creating two new wallets for each user for each transactions, then moving funds to the new hot wallets for a swap. It sounds a little like a "Paypal Lightning Network", which is one of the few ways you can get me even less excited about any "Lightning Network". Off-chain solutions are bogus.
I'm not exactly sure what makes this additional step necessary, since the patents notes funds are verified before being moved to the second wallet. You would think Paypal's very existence in this transaction would be to serve as a "trusted" counterparty/intermediary, rendering this solution a bit odd in concept.
It has been some time since Paypal was last caught filing cryptocurrency patents. In 2016, Paypal filed for a patent related to the ability to accept Bitcoin, Litecoin and Dogecoin as a payment. I'm not sure that anything came of this particular patent, and they haven't made a filing since... until this March.
I'm not exactly a big fan of Paypal, in case that wasn't too clear. They regularly make life hell for Ebay sellers with their "no questions asked" forced-refund policy. Paypal has become a regular staple of online abuse, particularly at Ebay, where you can buy just about anything, return it broken, and get a refund out of the seller's frozen account funds. They also charge relatively high fees for transfers and, generally speaking, aren't operating a very professional organization. I can't imagine I'd want them handling my cryptocurrency.
Despite my complaints, major acceptance of any cryptocurrencies by a "household name" vendor would be a great boost for Bitcoin. Many believe this will be the next catalyst for another price run, so even if it is not true in fact it may become a self-fulfilling prophecy in terms of market sentiment.
It would be nice for Paypal to create some satisfied customers for once.
We also have a Radio Station! (click me)
...and a 10,000+ active user Discord Chat Server! (click me)
Sources: Google, Quickmeme, Wikipedia, Zero Hedge, Ebay
Copyright: Paypal, The Matrix
As much as PayPal is useful in the common day, I do anxiously await for cryptocurrencies to replace it. I hold no ill will towards them, but I do believe that times are changing and that the time has come.
I don't trust them in the slightest, and I haven't even been screwed over by them (directly.)
I feel like they give terrible exchange rates and prefer letting my bank do the conversion also the fees they charge are way too high on ebay, I haven't been screwed over by them either but they take way too much and are pretty much the only option in a lot of cases.
Wow, I go along with with you this was inevitable.
But I control had terrible experiences with paypal in the past, and I crave crypto to afford a viable unconventional to it. It is a embarrassment that the Litepay platform launch was a bomb keep up week, but we will take part in a legitimate competitor in a little while I fee
Well it will work for them as they already have a user base. So technically it's kind of a smart move, as the average consumer will still use there service.
In that regard, as I noted, it's actually a positive for cryptos as it will bring in some new users in a hopefully more user-friendly fashion.
Oh yeah, for sure its good news. The more outlets of crypto the more exposure for us!
was that a meme lol!!!!!
Just a reference to the Matrix. The line seemed to apply perfectly.
I dislike Paypal with passion, I don't deal with them anymore
I definitely avoid them whenever possible, but sometimes you are locked in (like with Ebay.)
sometimes bleak and sometimes bright, it's a very natural thing .. life is like the wheels where its pentil once above and can also above
@lexiconical
They charge relatively high fees for transfers is SO RIGHT. And I just knew they are a pain for eBay sellers. That's bad.
Yes, I imagine running their business is awfully profitable given the degree of fees and little actual product provided.
I used paypal for a few months to handle payments with airbnb, in Poland it cost me about 10% of revenue, I do not recommend it to anyone and I would not like such practices in the crypt world
Yep, 10%, that sounds about right.
(More than) half as abusive as a credit card.
PayPal is starting to cool itself
Hmz, someone don't want to be left behind....
Legit move from Paypal: can't beat it, so implement it!
Indeed. If you can't beat em, join em. Fair play I guess.
PayPal is in desperate need to improve and innovate. Looks to me like thy are throwing shit at the wall hoping something will stick. I don’t see real action and progress coming from them.
Wow, I agree with you this was inevitable.
But I have had terrible experiences with paypal in the past, and I want crypto to provide a viable alternative to it. It is a shame that the Litepay platform launch was a flop last week, but we will have a legitimate competitor soon I feel.
This is the problem with these established organisations trying to get involved with crypto, they don't want to secede any power, they still want to practice centralization. Filing patents, how about making it open source?
Paypal is really one of the most vulnerable companies to cryptocurrency adoption, with actions like this it is no wonder.
It all started with an idea.
Interesting...
It’s funny how things become popular when people feel “safe” even if it’s at the expense of sellers losing money. Great points there.
I too would like to see a greater adoption of cryptos
Is this a blockchain that run on top of paypal system or a new blockchain to run paypal on top of it?
It's quite possible that Paypal will do nothing with this patent, but only filed it to keep any competitors from doing something like this.
I hate PayPal with a passion @Lexi.
I think they're actually one of the biggest and least discussed fraudulent companies out there... I wouldn't be surprised if this PayPal Lightning Network was a way to conduct even more rent-seeking fraudulent activities.
All of the nuisances you describe in your article accord perfectly with the practices of a company engaged in fraud... Like forced refunds and all of this kind of stuff... Okay, maybe not by necessity, but in my experience and countless other's, the way that PayPal unilaterally moves funds around, freezes them, blocks them, denies access...
I mean these guys are worse than fricking banks by almost every single metric I can imagine... Worse than banks Lexi! WORSE THAN BANKS
I think their services are so badly put together and their customer support for a multibillion dollar fintech company are so poor that I would literally rather pay twice as much in Bitcoin fees than give a dime to those abhorrent psychopathic criminals over there at PayPal...
Lol @ sly Agent Smith meme
helpful reasons that makes me feel comfortable about not having paypal in my country lol
The fact that Paypal is the only way you buy or sell on ebay definitely gives Paypal an advantage. The seller is the one who ends up paying all the fees, so they get double dipped by both ebay and paypal. I still buy stuff on ebay because its the biggest market that I know of for buying used stuff that still works.
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