- The e-commerce platform is looking to integrate cryptocurrencies as a payment form to attract the millennial generation
- Markedly, this is not the first time the company has talked about plans to bring crypto payments to the platform
California-based e-commerce company eBay is exploring the possibility of adding cryptocurrency payments to its platform, according to a Sunday report by TheStreet. The report detailed that the rationale behind the move is to attract the young generation (Gen Z & millennial) that is heavily leaning towards digitalisation and has a liking for cryptocurrencies.
eBay has floated the idea of integrating digital assets on several past occasions to appeal to a wider consumer base. The company first showed interest in accepting Bitcoin payments in 2014. Early May last year, eBay's chief executive Jamie Iannone said in a CNBC interview that the company was open to the idea of crypto payments but had no immediate plans.
An official announcement could come as soon as March
More recently, on Sunday, Iannone told the news outlet TheStreet that eBay has plans to add new forms of payments.
"We're just completing our transition to manage payments where we're now managing $85 billion of volume on our platform directly. This gives us the ability to open up new forms of payment. We opened up Google Pay and Apple Pay. We have a partnership with Afterpay in Australia, which is a platform that appeals to Gen Z, and that is a buy now pay later platform on the marketplace."
It appears that the company is tired of entertaining the idea and is inching closer to making it a reality. The report suggested that the company could make an official announcement on the subject during the investor's day next Thursday, 10th March.
"We're not accepting crypto currently, but on 10th March, we're going to go deeper on all of these things, payments, advertising, our focus categories."
eBay joins a list of many brands that have adopted cryptocurrencies as means to settle payments. The company's plans to accept crypto assets, if successfully, will boost the adoption of these digital assets. The platform boasts of an approximated global user base of 187 million – that'll only keep growing if history is anything to go by.
eBay has shown no hesitance when it comes to NFTs
This is not the company's rodeo into the virtual assets niche. Last May, the company updated its policy, bringing NFTs to its platform.
Iannone revealed during the Sunday interview that before the company announced it had revised its policy, users were already trading non-fungible tokens.
"So even without announcing anything or doing anything, people started trading NFT on a platform. It reminded me of many years ago when people just started selling cars when we didn't even have a vehicle business at that point. So, we're seeing the same type of thing [with NFT]."
While the company has shown no reservations about NFTs on its platform, it has been careful when it comes to cryptocurrencies. Still and all, it has a goal of becoming "the marketplace for sustainability" in the near future by providing an avenue "where people trade goods, whether they be physical or digital."