PayPal: Blockchain is boring, why not just use a database?

If something works, why change it? That’s how PayPal’s Harper Reed interprets “boring” blockchains, and they stick with traditional databases.

"Why not just use a database?"

In a world of “chainwashing,” some companies seem to be taking the high road and wanting to distance themselves from Bitcoin’s underlying blockchain technology. PayPal is one such company that, despite its ambitions to become the world’s leading online payment platform, is trying to distance itself from the technology that could help it achieve its goals.

(Harper Reid, head of software development at PayPal)

When asked about her views on the potential of blockchain technology, PayPal’s head of software development, Harper Reed, responded:

Whenever someone asks us why we don’t use blockchain to accomplish something, I wonder why we can’t just use a database?

In fact, this is exactly what PayPal does all the time. Its centralized online payment app Venmo currently handles $20 billion in transactions per year.

Reed mentioned Bitcoin’s use in the “black market,” arguing that Bitcoin is currently still a medium of exchange for the darknet economy, and suggested that the technology must undergo a “rebranding” in order to achieve further development:

When I think of blockchain I think of drugs. I'm not a drug addict so I think blockchain is boring.

PayPal and Bitcoin

Although Reed misunderstands Bitcoin as a "drug trading currency," his views on blockchain are refreshing.

PayPal has always seemed to focus more on results and the user experience itself rather than hype and underlying technology.

Despite this, PayPal has had several opportunities to interact with blockchain technology and Bitcoin. In June 2016, PayPal partnered with digital asset exchange and wallet provider Coinbase to allow users to buy and sell Bitcoin with their PayPal accounts.

(PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel)

PayPal co-founder and adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump Peter Thiel has also shown a keen interest in blockchain technology and has invested in several Bitcoin startups.

He once said:

PayPal tried to create a new type of money. We failed, we just created a new payment system. I think Bitcoin has succeeded in creating a new type of money.

Thiel has become an extremely important advisor to the Trump team. In addition, 21 Company CEO Balaji S. Srinivasan and recently appointed US Treasury Director Mick Mulvaney are both Bitcoin supporters, and Mulvaney even has the title of "Bitcoin Congressman".