eBay’s has filled a patent application through PayPal for secure tokens that could potentially be used as a virtual currency.
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The application was filed in June 2012 and published on 19 December 2013 and it would allow people to buy products without creating a payment provider account.
The patent application reads: "The recipient can use the token to purchase a product using a checkout though the payment provider. The purchase can be made without requiring the user to create the user’s own payment provider account".
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By GlobalDataIn theory, the tokens could also be used for purchases outside of eBay and PayPal and not just for giving gifts, making eBay a competitor of other virtual currencies Bitcoin and litecoin.
In December, PayPal president David Marcus said of Bitcoin: "People are confused. They think because it’s called cryptocurrency it’s a currency. I don’t think it is a currency. It’s a store of value, a distributed ledger."
Marcus has said that he doesn’t think the proposed token could be used as a currency at this stage because its pricing fluctuates too much for practical use.
eBay’s rival Amazon entered the digital currency market a year ago with Amazon Coins. Facebook, on the other hand, scrapped the idea of virtual currency called Facebook Credits in June 2012.
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