Amid an interview with CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin on "Squawk Box" on Thursday, April 14, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy relayed doubts about any near-term forthcoming cryptocurrency payment plans for the platform. The concept has been largely heated in a wide range of categories, as users see potential in its use and obvious constraints in its underlying scam-heavy ecosystem.
During the interview, Jassy likewise highlighted their keen interest in the growing NFT marketplace, one that he even expects to bounce "significantly" more into the future. Both cryptocurrencies and NFTs go hand in hand, as they run on a similar blockchain-based system. Similarly, Jassy also sees an ever-heightening interest in cryptocurrencies, despite the slight downturn over the past few months.
Even so, the Amazon executive admitted to not even owning any himself, referring specifically to bitcoin. But, his interest in NFTs stems largely closer to the e-commerce giant than one might expect, feigning some interest in potentially building an Amazon NFT marketplace. He said, "I think it's possible down the road on the platform."
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As for utilizing cryptocurrencies for direct payments on Amazon, the route isn't so streamlined. With major online retailers like Etsy, Microsoft, Home Depot, Starbucks, and more all offering payment plans via crypto, Amazon has remained largely behind. It's hard to theorize whether it's cold feet or simple security constraints. But, Jassy himself does retain the potentiality of the crypto coins being used as payments on Amazon, just not anytime soon. In his own words:
"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."
The CEO, who took executive status in July of last year from founder Jeff Bezos, released his first-ever annual shareholder letter on Thursday alongside the interview. The document expresses the rollercoaster of concerns faced amidst the pandemic and how the company has not just weathered the storm but beat back against it with immense consumer revenue growth. Jassy also lists several key factors that separate Amazon from the rest, including Prime Video, its fulfillment network, devices (such as the Kindle, FireTV, etc.), and, most notably, AWS.
Whether NFTs will enter its list in the near future remains an uncertain yet interesting concept to consider. Just last year, eBay began to allow the purchase and sale of NFTs on its platform, one of the first of its kind in the e-commerce sector to adopt the crypto asset as a potential selling point. While cryptocurrencies aren't yet available as a payment option on eBay, it has stated it's open to the possibility.
Given the amount of investigative research and money Amazon has already put forth in the interest of this endeavor, as expressed in the hiring of a blockchain expert in 2021, it's a safe bet that the e-commerce giant will eventually adopt not just crypto as a payment opportunity but an an entire ecosystem of blockchain commodities.
