According to Lannone, parts of NFTs were “already transacting” on eBay, but the e-commerce company is yet to simplify the process for merchants and customers.
American e-commerce company eBay Inc (NASDAQ: EBAY) said it is considering letting customers make payments with crypto and it is also seeking ways to allow non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on its marketplace. The company’s CEO Jamie Lannone revealed the company’s plan for crypto payments and NFTs introduction on the platform.
eBay Executive Speaks on Crypto and NFTs
Speaking in an interview with CNBC on the 3rd of May, Lannone said that eBay would “continue to look” at payment options like crypto and also explore “opportunities” to enable NFTs “in an easy way.” He added:
“One of the great things about eBay is when there’s a new trend, it just shows up on eBay. That’s what we’re seeing in areas like NFT, which we’re looking at how we can explore that better.”
According to Lannone, parts of NFTs were “already transacting” on eBay, but the e-commerce company is yet to simplify the process for merchants and customers. In addition, some eBay users have also been able to easily list Bitcoin (BTC) for sale on the platform without authorization from the e-commerce company.
In a statement to Reuters, eBay said:
“We are always looking at the most relevant forms of payment and will continue to assess that going forward. We have no immediate plans, but it [crypto] is something we are keeping an eye on.”
Before now, there has been news on eBay accepting crypto payments. In 2017, a senior vice president at eBay, Scott Cutler, said that the company was “seriously considering” integrating Bitcoin as a payment method. At the time, the executive added that the company is not “quite there yet.”
eBay Formerly Denies Cryptocurrency Payment Option
On the other hand, eBay addressed rumors on its move towards crypto. An eBay spokesperson said in 2019 that crypto is not a part of its payment strategy.
Already, some companies are letting customers pay for their products using Bitcoin. Electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) has started allowing Bitcoin as a form of payment. Last year, PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL) also started allowing its users to buy, sell, and hold selected cryptocurrencies on its platform. During the announcement, PayPal said it would initially support Bitcoin, Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Litecoin (LTC).
At press time, eBay is at after-hours trading of $57.80. The current trading price is a 0.60% decline over its previous close of $58.15. The e-commerce company has grown 44.22% in the last twelve months and advanced further by nearly 16% since the beginning of 2021. The company has also gained 1.43% in the last three months. In the last five days, EBAY has plummeted almost 6%.
According to MarketWatch, eBay stands at a market cap of $38.01 billion. The company recorded about 187 million active buyers during the first quarter of 2021.
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