Amazon Not Adding Cryptocurrency As Payment Option Anytime Soon, Says CEO

Amazon.com Inc chief executive officer Andy Jassy said the e-commerce giant is not close to adding cryptocurrency as a payment option to its retail business, in an interview with CNBC.

He also said it might be possible to sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on its e-commerce platform and expects NFTs to continue to grow “significantly.”

NFTs, a type of digital asset that exist on a blockchain, have exploded in popularity in 2021, with NFT artworks selling for millions of dollars.

Jassy said cryptocurrencies will become bigger in the longer term, but added he himself does not own any bitcoin.

Virtual Currencies

A growing number of companies have started to accept virtual currencies for payment, bringing an asset class shunned by major financial institutions until a few years ago closer to the mainstream.

Last year, eBay Inc allowed the sale of NFTs for digital collectibles like trading cards, images or video clips on its platform, the first e-commerce company to tap into the frenzy around NFTs.

EBay had also said it was open to the possibility of accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment in the future.

Recently, a Shibata supermarket in the Brazilian state of São Paulo said it accepts cryptocurrency as a payment option for grocery purchases.

Croatia’s largest food retailer, Konzum, introduced an option of paying with cryptocurrencies in its online shops in December, becoming the first local retailer offering the payment service.