Blockchain is now more than a buzzword, as more and more companies are adapting it directly to their work, from well-known startups to giant corporations.
COVID-19 greatly accelerated the adoption of cryprocurrencies in the case of Airbnb, as the company has been hit hard by pandemic. In the past, Airbnb said that there’re no plans to consider bitcoin as a mode of payment, but it might change in the future, according to the prospectus filled for IPO. The filling states that implementation of cryptocurrencies and other blockchain technologies would decide the future success of the company, so now it’s not a matter of “if”, but a matter of “when”. Especially since there would be successful example of actual Bitcoin usage very soon with PayPal.
E-payments giant Paypal has recently announced that their customers can buy, sell and hold Bitcoin and other virtual coins with the company’s online wallets. But it’s not just that: US customers will be able to use cryprocurrencies in actual shopping, starting in early 2021. CEO of Paypal is saying that “the service will encourage global use of virtual coins and prepare its network for new digital currencies that may be developed by central banks and corporations”. PayPal also plans to roll out these features to its mobile payment service app, Venmo, in select international markets. PayPay new allegiance to Bitcoin is confirmed by the fact that the company bought about 70% of all bitcoins that were mined in past month.
Airbnb and Paypal is just a small portion of companies that starting to use blockchain in their actual work. This, and insane rise of Bitcoin’s value in the latest year, confirm that blockchains are here to stay.