eBay to allow Bitcoin sales in 'virtual currency' category

[TomKat]

(More great news on the BTC front!! - TK)

After PayPal President David Marcus tweeted "We're believers in BTC," eBay's US and UK branches say they will let people sell digital currencies in the classified ads sections of the sites.

It seemed like it was only a matter of time before e-commerce giant eBay and its payment platform PayPal addressed the sale and use of Bitcoin on its sites. And, despite concern from government regulators, it appears the company believes in virtual currencies -- so much so, that it will soon start allowing their sale on its US and UK sites.

Last week, PayPal President David Marcus tweeted "To clarify: we have no policies against using PayPal to sell Bitcoin mining rigs. We don't support any currency txn whether fiat or BTC... for a host of regulatory issues. But we treat BTC and any FX txn the same way. We're believers in BTC though."

Then, a couple of days later, eBay UK sent an e-mail to one of its merchants that was published on Reddit, which said the company plans to open a "Virtual Currency" category for the sale of Bitcoin and other digital currencies on the UK site.

Please know that per our recent policy update, Virtual Currency (i.e. Bitcoin and Litecoin), whether digitally or physically delivered, cannot be listed in Auction-style or Buy-It-Now listing formats. eBay is opening a Virtual Currency category to allow the sale of virtual currency in Classified Ads format on February 10, 2014. We request that you do not list these items until that date. Please be informed that repeated breach of the policy may further jeopardize your account status. To avoid any inconvenience in future, we'd appreciated it if you go through our help pages or contact us before listing any such items.

While eBay US and UK will start allowing Bitcoin to be sold in its classified ads format, it won't yet let users sell the currency in the auction or buy-it-now formats. Additionally, all transactions will be required to happen outside of eBay. A eBay UK spokesman told CNET that virtual currency sales will only be allowed on eBay US and eBay UK for now; it's unclear if the policy will spread to other countries where eBay operates.

"To promote a trustworthy marketplace and ensure compliance with applicable regulations, eBay is updating its Currency Policy," eBay UK spokesman Steve Heywood told CNET in an e-mail. "The updated policy clarifies that listings for Bitcoin and other similar virtual currencies must be listed in the Virtual Currency Category in the Classified Ad format. This applies to both the US (effective immediately) and the UK (effective 10 February)."

Marcus told CNET in an interview last month, "I really like Bitcoin. I own bitcoins." But, he also said he's not yet ready to let people link their Bitcoin wallets with their PayPal accounts. "Whenever the regulatory framework is clearer, and the volatility comes down, then we'll consider it," he said.

Bitcoin has proven that it can do well as a traded currency. It's been around since 2009, but didn't really get going until 2011 when it was worth $2 per coin. By 2013, the currency had climbed to $20 per coin, and then jumped to $266 last April. Within the past couple of months, it had another price jump and is now hovering around $1,000.

While eBay appears to be opening its doors to virtual currency, China's largest e-commerce site Alibaba shut the door on Bitcoin earlier this month. The company announced that the sale of Bitcoins on its Web site is now banned. While the majority of site's sales are made via Taobao's Alipay system, a handful of merchants were accepting Bitcoin payments or selling the digital currency.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-576...ency-category/

[TomKat]

NBA's Sacramento Kings accepting Bitcoin

The Sacramento Kings, a U.S. professional basketball team, said it has become the first professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin. Fans will be able to buy merchandise and tickets with Bitcoin, processing their purchases through Bitcoin payment service provider BitPay, according to a news release.

The National Basketball Association team has begun accepting Bitcoins in the Kings Team Store, and will offer fans the ability to pay online for team merchandise and tickets by March 1, 2014, according to a press release.

In other Bitcoin news, eBay U.K. is to allow Bitcoins to be listed in a virtual currency section within its classified ads pages, according to Mashable. From Feb. 10, users will be able to list their virtual currencies for sale on eBay U.K. classified ads. However, actual transactions will have to take place outside of eBay and Bitcoin will not be accepted for eBay purchases.

"To promote a trustworthy marketplace and ensure compliance with applicable regulations, eBay is currently updating its Currency Policy," an eBay spokesperson told Mashable in an email. "The updated policy will clarify that listings for Bitcoin and other similar virtual currencies must be listed in the Virtual Currency Category in the Classified Ad format."

http://www.retailcustomerexperience....epting-Bitcoin

[TomKat]

Cumbria becomes first public university in the world to accept Bitcoin in tuition fees

The University of Cumbria is to accept the online currency Bitcoin as payment for fees, it has announced, becoming the first public university in the world to do so.

At first, payments will be limited to two courses on the roles of complimentary currencies in economic systems, which will be taught from summer this year.

The courses are to be run by the university's new Institute for Leadership and Sustainability, in an effort to “study the experience of facilitating payments by one complementary currency system”.

Professor Jem Bendell, the director of IFLAS, said: “We believe in learning by doing, and so to help inform our courses on complementary currencies, we are trialling the acceptance of them.”

The two courses accepting Bitcoin as payment are the “Certificate of Achievement in Sustainable Exchange”, to be taught at Cumbria’s London campus, and the “Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable Leadership”, which will take place at the Lake District campus.

The University of Cumbria believes it is the first public university to accept Bitcoin, hot on the heels of the University of Nicosia, a private university in Cyprus, which announced it would do similar late last year. The two courses are already validated and are accepting students, while Cumbria’s system for accepting payments, via the Bitpay system, is also operational.

Bitcoin is an online currency and payment system which enables the international transmission of funds. Though thousands of merchants worldwide accept this “cryptocurrency” – so called because it uses cryptography to guarantee its security – it has often been associated with illicit activity, most notably with the online illegal drug market called Silk Road, which was shut down by the FBI in 2013. Bitcoin's value is famously quite volatile, but it’s currently sitting a little $1,000 on MT.Gox, which is one of its main trading exchanges.

In a statement, the university warned students against purchasing Bitcoin specifically to pay their fees, due to the “risk of currency volatility”.

It said: “[Students] should only use this facility if they already have Bitcoin, or can receive Bitcoin donations in order to pay their fees.

“There are misunderstandings about Bitcoin and this is a trial move by the university, where we approach it as a learning exercise and welcome feedback.”

However, it did not rule out accepting other currencies in future: “The university will learn from this trial and develop its awareness of innovations in complementary currencies and payment technology.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/student...s-9074700.html

[TomKat]

Sorry, I got the bright idea to change the thread name on the second post to "Who is accepting BTC" to keep the threads to a minimun but now I cannot see how to change the thread title. Any help is welcome.

[muh_roads]

Sorry, I got the bright idea to change the thread name on the second post to "Who is accepting BTC" to keep the threads to a minimun but now I cannot see how to change the thread title. Any help is welcome.

Double-click next to the thread title outside of this thread among all the other titles. On the same line behind your word "category". It becomes editable if not too late...