It's like oil companies investing in green tech. If that's where you think the world is headed, it's better to get on the train and be a player than to get left behind.
For PayPal and BTC - even in the best scenario for BitCion, there's going to be a very long transition period, and PayPal has a very good position to profit from being an intermediate in that period. And once all centralised currencies are gone, true, PayPal's current business model is irrelevant, but by then, they'll have world-class expertise on BitCoin and can probably keep in the game as wallet operators or makers of hardware for casual transactions or whatever.
For PayPal and BTC - even in the best scenario for BitCion, there's going to be a very long transition period, and PayPal has a very good position to profit from being an intermediate in that period. And once all centralised currencies are gone, true, PayPal's current business model is irrelevant, but by then, they'll have world-class expertise on BitCoin and can probably keep in the game as wallet operators or makers of hardware for casual transactions or whatever.