PayPal backs Bitcoin in a big way

Bitcoin has long been waiting to break into the mainstream space and be considered a legitimate form of payment. This morning, PayPal has decided to back the form of payment in a big way. Bitcoin is now going to be an accepted method of payment for merchants of digital goods.

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PayPal is owned by eBay and the company has long hinted at the fact that they would eventually embrace the idea of allowing bitcoin transactions to funnel through its space. With large players like Overstock and Wikipedia accepting bitcoin as a form of donations now, PayPal essentially had its hand forced.

Thanks to partnerships with BitPay, Coinbase and GoCoin, PayPal is now going to accept bitcoin for the transfer of digital goods.

In deciding to take the plunge into accepting bitcoin, PayPay decided to back multiple companies rather than just choose one provider. CEO of GoCoin, Steve Beauregard said “This is a huge endorsement to the digital currency community.”

PayPal will not hold any bitcoin however, as they will only play the role of the intermediary. The will earn money through referral fees determined with each company.

While bitcoin has long been touted as a very groundbreaking advancement in technology, the currency has yet to take mainstream notice. Now with such a large company backing the monetary instrument, both PayPal and bitcoin users have a lot to gain here.

Also, as the new broke, the price of bitcoin skyrocketed. Obviously when you put such a huge name behind something, it does wonders for its media relations.

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