Amazon doesn’t plan to accept bitcoin for payment any time soon. In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the e-commerce giant isn’t ready to accept cryptocurrency payments soon. The company may, however, get involved in the sale of NFTs, he said.
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.
Andy Jassy, CEO – AMAZON
Instead of accepting new payment methods, Amazon appears to be more intent on keeping its retail business profitable amid rising costs. Despite increasing logistics costs, Amazon’s profits have been steadily declining since October. During a conference call with reporters on Thursday, Jassy reiterated the same points and added that the war in Ukraine has pushed up fuel prices, driving even more pressure on Amazon’s business model. Earlier this week, Amazon added a 5 percent inflation and fuel surcharge to the fees charged to merchants using the Fulfillment By Amazon service, a cost that experts expect to be passed on to some extent to consumers.
Amazon has previously expressed interest in cryptocurrencies. To develop its strategy and product roadmap around the technologies, Amazon sought to hire a blockchain and digital currency expert last year.
Previously in a report, Amazon announced a job opening for a product lead in Web3-focused digital currency and blockchain. Amazon Web Services (AWS) Blockchain team has a senior product manager position available for a blockchain-focused role.
I expect that NFTs are going to grow very significantly moving forward.
Andy Jassy, CEO – AMAZON
The e-commerce giant may sell NFTs in the future, he predicted. The blockchain records the ownership of digital assets, such as music, website domains, and digital artwork.
Since last year, NFTs have grown in popularity, and many cryptocurrency enthusiasts are familiar with the technology. Data from Nonfungible.com shows that trading in NFTs reached $17.6 billion last year, a 21,000% increase from 2020. While Amazon does not accept cryptocurrency, consumers can now access and use it more easily. In the past few years, mainstream apps like PayPal, Cash App, Venmo and others have introduced options for buying and selling cryptocurrencies, as well as accepting them as payment. Amazon hasn’t given a timeline for when it will add features for buying and selling NFTs.
