EBay chief John Donahoe told CNBC in June that he saw bitcoin and other digital currencies playing an "important role" for PayPal and stated that it would have to integrate digital currencies into its wallet software. The company originally bought Braintree for $800 million in cash last September and was seen as an addition to its PayPal business, although the two had been rivals before the deal.

Read MoreEBay considering accepting bitcoin as payment

Bitcoin currently has a daily transaction volume of $44 million, according to coinometrics.com, a digital currency research firm. This compares to $397 million for PayPal and $16.5 billion for Visa. Bitcoin is a "virtual" currency that allows users to exchange online credits for goods and services. While there is no central bank that issues them, bitcoins can be created online by using a computer to complete difficult tasks, a process known as mining. The digital currency has sparked interest among venture capitalists on both sides of the Atlantic but has also run into regulatory issues in many countries.

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Bitcoin gets green light from PayPal unit