eBay's Consensus ads are sending all kinds of mixed signals

Looks like eBay ain’t getting into crypto after all. The rumors started yesterday in after a few tweets showing the e-merchant’s ads from the crypto conference Consensus, currently being held in New York.

“Virtual currency. It’s happening on Ebay” read one conference banner, prompting community-wide speculation about the company’s future involvement in the market.

Judging by the latest reports, however, t’was all a big misunderstanding. According to several crypto ‘news sites’, the company has since clarified that the ads were mainly referencing the fact that eBay offers a variety of crypto-related items for sale, including specialized mining equipment.

Or, as one Twitter user put it:

Just an fyi - despite the reports, I still haven’t seen an official retraction from eBay so far. Not saying that it’s not true, just that the recently-reported denials included no official source.

Assuming it’s true, however, not everyone is buying eBay’s retraction. According to some, the e-commerce giant wouldn’t be buying up ad real estate at one of crypto’s biggest conferences if it wasn’t in fact planning a move:

One thing’s for sure - if it does turn out the Consensus banners were just promo for mining equipment on ebay, the company really ought to consider hiring better copywriters in the future.