eBay President and CEO Jamie Iannone has hinted that the e-commerce platform could announce cryptocurrencies as a payment option as early as this month.
Ebay, one of the world's best-known websites for online auctions and e-commerce, is once again considering adding cryptocurrencies to its payment options. The company's president and CEO, Jamie Iannone, said during a press conference interview The company has spoken to The Street on the phone saying that although eBay does not yet accept cryptocurrency payments, it will discuss this issue with investors on March 10.
Iannone said the current volume of payments handled directly from eBay, $85.000 billion, gives the platform the capacity to integrate new methods to offer other payment options to its millions of registered users around the world.
The e-commerce platform has been considering accepting cryptocurrency payments since 2013, when it considered integrating Bitcoin. Currently, Iannone noted that eBay aims to become the main e-commerce gateway for the Millennial and Gen-Z generation; a goal where cryptocurrencies play an important role. Last May, the financial multinational Mastercard indicated that 40% of Millennials could adopt cryptocurrencies this 2022. In November 2020, BlackRock director Rick Rieder assured that Millennials' receptivity to cryptocurrencies would make Bitcoin consolidate itself as a global asset. The same They said analysts at prestigious investment bank JP Morgan that same month, pointing out that, in this generation, Bitcoin is seen as a better investment alternative than gold.
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Payment with bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies
“We continue to evaluate other forms of payment that we should take on the platform”, Iannone said during the interview, clarifying that cryptocurrency payments are not yet accepted on eBay. However, considering that last year the platform changed its policies to support the trading of non-fungible tokens (NFT) and that Paypal, acquired by the company in 2008, also began operating with cryptoassets last year, it is not surprising that the e-commerce platform is preparing to integrate digital assets into its payment options.
eBay merchants and users were transacting NFTs on eBay even though the company had not made any specific announcement, Iannone said, comparing the move to when it started trading cars on the platform even though it did not have a vehicle business at the time.
“eBay will be the place where people exchange goods, whether physical or digital. So over time, you know, we want this to be the marketplace of sustainability.”, assured the CEO of the platform.
Other companies that are also exploring the possibility of integrating cryptocurrencies into their payment options are Uber, Amazon y Airbnb.
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