eBay Inc (EBAY. O) is open to the possibility of accepting cryptocurrency as payment in the future and is looking at ways to get non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on its platform, the company said on Monday.
A growing number of companies have accepted virtual currencies as payment, taking an asset class that had been shunned by major financial institutions a few years ago, a step closer to becoming mainstream.
Tesla Inc (TSLA. O) is already accepting bitcoin as payment for its electric cars, while payments giant PayPal (PYPL. O) last year started allowing customers to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies using its online wallets. read more
“We are always looking at the most relevant forms of payment and will continue to assess that from now on. We have no immediate plans, but it (cryptocurrency) is something we are monitoring,” eBay said in a statement to Reuters.
In an interview with CNBC, Chief Executive Officer Jamie Iannone said that accepting virtual currency was an option the company was looking at.
eBay, which disappointed investors with a weak second-quarter profit forecast last week, said it was looking at a “number of ways” to get into the NFT space. read more
NFTs, a type of digital asset that exists on a blockchain, has exploded in popularity this year, with NFT artworks selling for millions of dollars and musicians such as the Kings of Leon rock group embracing them for their latest album. Read more.
“We’re exploring opportunities on how we can enable it (NFTs) on eBay easily,” Iannone said on CNBC.
“Everything that’s collectible has been on eBay for decades and will continue to be for the next few decades.”
(This story refiles to correct CEO name in paragraphs 5 and 8 to Iannone; Corrects typographical errors in paragraphs 1, 3 and 4.)
“Everything that’s collectible has been on eBay for decades and will continue to be for the next few decades.”
Source: Reuters
