eBay will have us on tenterhooks until March 10, when the e-commerce giant is expected to announce its decision on cryptocurrency payments. The first notice came in May 2021, when the company started flirting with the idea of crypto payments and incorporating non-fungible tokens (NFTs) into the platform. If crypto gets the green light, eBay will join others such as PayPal, Shopify, and the Latin American giant, Mercado Pago.
Recently, eBay incorporated Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Afterpay to payment options. Nevertheless, with the surge of Bitcoin and stable coins as part of the mainstream, crypto can’t stay out, much less for the customer base of Gen Z and millennials, a central audience for which the company seeks to maintain its appeal, commented CEO Jamie Iannone in an interview with The Street.
If crypto payments are incorporated into eBay, it is probably a valve to channel part of the staggering US$ 85 billion in payment volume processed directly in their platform, along with the appealings of faster and secure blockchain-based payment processes.
Concerning NFTs, the tokens have been available on the platform since last year and are classified under art, music, or cards categories. NFTs on eBay are, foremostly, the acknowledgment and adaption of business policies since their customers were already trading them, “just like years ago when people just started selling cars”, Iannone recalled during his interview.
Perhaps new opportunities in NFTs come along with the future announcements since the company has been a platform for collectibles for decades and “will continue to be for the next years” said Iannone in a chat with CNBC.
The anticipation of eBay’s announcement next week will also put gazes on another e-commerce giant, Amazon, amidst last year’s denial of the rumors that the company was ready to accept Bitcoin.
