E-commerce giant eBay Inc.(Nasdaq: EBAY) is very close to offering Bitcoin payment as an option via its Braintree subsidiary – a high-profile move that will mark another milestone on the road to mass adoption of the digital currency.

Last week The Wall Street Journal said that according to "people familiar with the matter" officials from eBay's PayPal unit had been in talks with several Bitcoin payment companies, including Coinbase.

It's likely that the Braintree subsidiary is serving as eBay's guinea pig, testing Bitcoin payments