Amazon Could Sell NFTs in Future but Not Close to Adding Crypto Payment

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) CEO Andy Jassy recently spoke about crypto growth and the possibility of the platform selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the future. Speaking during a CNBC’s “Squawk Box” interview, Jassy clarified that he does not own any Bitcoin. The CEO’s interview came after releasing the first Amazon shareholder letter since he became the CEO in July 2021, succeeding Jeff Bezos. Although the Amazon executive does not have Bitcoin, he is bullish about the future of crypto and NFTs. 

In the interview, Jassy said crypto will “become bigger,” and Amazon may sell NFTs sometime in the future. The CEO clarified that Amazon is” close” to including crypto payment in its retail business. Meanwhile, the e-commerce company hinted at crypto interest sometime last year. At the time, the company’s payment and experience team was looking to hire a digital currency and blockchain expert. The job posting said the “experienced product leader” will work in developing Amazon’s digital currency and blockchain strategy. The employee will develop its product roadmap.

Amazon explained that whoever fills the role will use their expertise in blockchain, distributed ledger. Knowledge of CBDCs, and crypto to support the company is also part of the company’s expectation. An Amazon spokesperson also confirmed that the innovations surrounding cryptocurrencies are inspirations to the e-commerce giant. 

Amazon CEO Is Optimistic About Crypto and NFTs

The CEO’s recent comment did reveal that Amazon may not support crypto payment soon. However, it did not dispute that the company is or may not consider the option.  

Just as the company has signaled interest in crypto, Amazon is also confident in NFTs growth. Jassy said that he expects NFTs to continue growing exponentially. He added that he envisioned a future where NFTs sell on Amazon. If Amazon adopts crypto payments and supports NFTs buying on its platform, the company will be joining a growing list of companies in the burgeoning industries. In May, eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) started selling NFTs on its platform.

2021 saw a spike in NFTs adoption as trading reached $17.6 billion. Last year’s sales were about a 21,000% jump from 2020. 

Although Amazon has not explicitly mentioned plans to include digital assets in its marketplace, the company has shown signs of adding web3 technology to its business. Currently, the company has open blockchain-related job roles for the Amazon Web Services (AWS) team.

“The candidate will have a track record delivering outstanding products at scale in emerging spaces, and is passionate about blockchain, distributed systems, and cloud scale software. Ideally you will have experience delivering products or innovations in the blockchain space and in particular DeFi or Traditional Financial Services. Come help us chart the path for AWS to drive customer success in a traditional space.”

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