The future of cryptocurrencies is constantly being watched and debated, due to their inconsistent nature and unsustained volatility. However, the opinion of PayPal’s CFO, John Rainey, is quite different on the matter, especially after telling the mainstream media that the renowned company for online payments could provide additional support for Bitcoin. According to him, the main reason for the troublesome merchant settlements lies within the currency’s unpredictability, which is why the electronic commerce company cannot see a lot of interest regarding its acceptance.

The volatility of major cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin, Ethereum or Dogecoin is currently bad for business, pursuant to Rainey, as merchants who accept payments in digital assets could lose a lot of money even on simple transactions. At present, a ten percent margin on a product could move the very next day to fifteen percent and so on, explains CFO.

PayPal started implementing Bitcoin payments in 2015 via its integrated system Braintree. Nevertheless, the currency’s volatility had numerous ups and downs since then, leaving all merchants in unfavorable situation of constant converting their funds to fiat. By comparing the Braintree with Lightning, Rainey also pointed out a distinct disparity between the fees and processing times, saying that a 2.9% plus a $0.30 expense per transaction remains stable whatsoever, whilst the Lightning’s capacity is just under $170,000.

To finalize, Rainey said that PayPal does consider a full support policy regarding Bitcoin, but only if the asset stabilizes and becomes a more predictible currency. In case that relevant capabilites of crypto continue to pressure both merchants and fiat-based solutions, no long-term support will be established, and fees will continue to vary tensely, which basically takes us back to the startline, doesn’t it?

Source:

“Paypal: We’ll ‘Definitely Support’ Bitcoin If It Becomes ‘Better Currency’”, bitcoinist.com, May 22, 2018.