Amazon CEO Says Cryptocurrency Payments Aren't Happening Soon But NFT Listings Might
Andy Jassy took over the reins of Amazon after founder Jeff Bezos stepped aside last year. Jassy pointed out the massive growth Amazon experienced during the coronavirus pandemic in his first annual shareholder letter. But even with the growth and the popularity of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the CEO says the company is not close to adding it as an option at checkout.
In a recent interview with CNBC, Jassy said he does not own any Bitcoin or NFTs, but is optimistic about their future.
"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," Jassy stated.
At one point last year, Amazon looked into adding a digital currency and blockchain expert to its payment teams in order to create a "strategy and product roadmap" surrounding the technology. Jassy said he expects NFTs will grow significantly in the future and anticipates a time when Amazon will sell NFTs on the platform.
An NFT of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey's first tweet sold for $2.9 million last year.
Nonfungible tokens are unique digital assets that cannot be replaced by something else. These unique assets are often digital files such as photos, videos, and audio, and can be in the form of a tweet. The first tweet by Jack Dorsey sold for $2.9 million. NFTs differ from cryptocurrency in that they cannot be exchanged for or equal to one another. Whereas cryptocurrency can be traded at equal value.
Jassy also talked about the war in Ukraine in the interview, saying that it has increased fuel costs and placed greater pressure on the Amazon business model. Earlier this week the company added a 5% inflation and fuel surcharge to a fee charged to merchants who the company's Fulfillment By Amazon service. This cost is of course expected to be passed along to shoppers on the platform.
