EBay is preparing to integrate bitcoin into its Braintree payments service, according to the Wall Street Journal, giving the crypto-currency a firm nudge into the mainstream.
Citing sources, the Journal says that PayPal officials have been meeting with virtual currency players, including Coinbase, about helping to facilitate bitcoin transactions through Braintree.
EBay paid $800 million last year for Chicago-based Braintree, which enables online and mobile businesses to accept card payments. The firm processes more than $12 billion in payments annually for over 4000 merchants as customers.
Among these are many outfits - including Airbnb, Uber and Github - catering to the kind of customers who are most likely to be interested in using crypto-currencies.
No deals with bitcoin firms have yet been struck, says the WSJ, and there are no plans for PayPal or eBay to begin accepting bitcoin yet, although this could change.