MercadoLibre ditches crypto after PayPal investment

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While there are all sorts of sectors that many cryptocurrency enthusiasts and proponents might not be too sure of that will be influenced by blockchain, one sector that many agree will be absolutely revolutionized by the space is global payments. While transactions often take days and involve higher transaction fees, cryptocurrency like Bitcoin SV allows for real-time settlements and are much cheaper.

There are many that believe that money transfer services such as PayPal are absolutely threatened by cryptocurrency, and new information that Mercadolibre will be doing away with “cryptocurrency-related” listings certainly adds fuel to the fire, and the rumor mill.

For those that might not be aware of MercadoLibre, it is an e-commerce giant that thrives in over 20 countries, and the company has abruptly announced that cryptocurrency-related listings will not be allowed on the platform. This is not a random announcement, however, as this comes on the heels of a significant investment from PayPal, to the tune of $750 million.

The “crypto ban” even extends to digital assets utilized in various video games and prepaid gift cards, as well, underscoring just how serious the ban is. In an e-mail to various clients, according to CCN, the company is not allowing much time for a debate, as the ban goes into effect on March 19, 2019, when these listings will be “automatically dropped.”

While some might consider the announcement random, it makes sense after the PayPal investment, as all sorts of high-profile executives have gone out of their way to either insult or downplay Bitcoin and/or cryptocurrency in general. One former Paypal CEO, Bill Harris, has called Bitcoin “the greatest scam in history” and later even stated that it is “going to head a whole lot closer to zero,” a claim that many cryptocurrency advocates took as clear evidence that the company is threatened by the entire space. An analyst by the name of Lisa Ellis also recently released a report that indicates that cryptocurrency may disrupt legacy payment systems such as Paypal, and credit card giants Mastercard and Visa, as well.

As if that wasn’t enough shade, the current CEO of Paypal, Dan Schulman, downplayed the merchant adoption aspect of cryptocurrency at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. While Schulman did state that he didn’t believe many retailers were accepting cryptocurrency, he seemed to understand that blockchain was catching too much momentum to downplay, and acknowledged that “the underlying technology is interesting.”