Amazon CEO: No plans to accept crypto anytime soon, but NFTs will boom

Even though the popularity of cryptocurrencies is growing with each day and increasingly more organizations accept the likes of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) as valid payment options, not all companies are ready to take the crypto plunge just yet.

Specifically, the e-commerce giant Amazon Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) is one of the platforms that, for the time being, are not considering jumping on the crypto bandwagon, as its Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy said in an interview with CNBC published on April 14.

At the same time, however, Jassy expressed optimism over the future of the crypto industry in general, saying that:

“We’re not probably close to adding crypto as a payment mechanism in our retail business, but I do believe over time that you’ll see crypto become bigger.”

When asked by the host about the possibility of Amazon one day selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs), Jassy, who isn’t a Bitcoin or $NFT owner himself, said he could imagine a future in which its company starts selling NFTs.

“I think it’s possible down the road on the platform,” he said.

The competition’s interest in crypto

Should it decide to introduce this option, Amazon would be following in the footsteps of eBay Inc. 

Namely, one of Amazon’s largest retail competitors eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) has allowed the sale of NFTs for digital collectibles like trading cards, images, or videos on its platform since May 2021. It has also expressed openness to the possibility of accepting payments in digital currencies soon.

Many had believed that Amazon, too, was on its track to introducing crypto payments after the platform posted a job ad in July 2021 in which it was looking for an “experienced product leader to develop Amazon’s Digital Currency and Blockchain strategy and product roadmap.”

Meanwhile, an increasing number of organizations have started to accept cryptocurrencies as a form of payment for their services and/or products, helping the emerging asset class grow in popularity and adoption around the world.