eBay Enters NFT Game: Allows Sale of NFTs on Its Platform
Coinspeaker
eBay Enters NFT Game: Allows Sale of NFTs on Its Platform
E-commerce platform eBay on Tuesday allowed the sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This comes after eBay CEO Jamie Iannone’s May 3 interview with CNBC revealing that the platform was considering adding crypto as a mode of payment. The move makes eBay the first e-commerce firm to delve into the rapidly expanding world of NFTs.
In an emailed statement to CoinDesk following Iannone’s interview, an eBay spokeswoman said the company was exploring the application of blockchain technology but had no immediate plans to implement it.
“We are currently looking at a number of ways to innovate in this space and we are excited about the underlying capabilities and how blockchain-driven collectables bring trust and authenticity, key components of a marketplace, to the digital space. We have no immediate plans, but it is something we are keeping an eye on,” said she.
This is eBay’s return to the crypto-sphere since it left Facebook‘s then-named Libra Association (later renamed the Diem Association) in 2019.
According to Reuters, in the interim, an NFT inventory will be put in place for sellers who satisfy eBay standards. This will is expected to placate the platform’s NFT market until policies, programmes and tools are put in place that will enable NFT trade on a broader span of categories.
Jordan Sweetnam, Senior vice VP and General Manager for eBay’s North America Market revealed that ‘in the coming months, eBay will add new capabilities that bring blockchain-driven collectables to [the] platform’.
NFTs have in recent months gained a sizable foothold in the world of digital assets. They can come in the form of photos, videos, digital art, trading cards and any other media found exclusively online. While such media can be viewed by pretty much anyone, ownership is exclusive.
Some celebrities have taken advantage of this trend and created monetized NFTs.
Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda debuted his single with iann dior and UPSAHL ” Happy Endings” as a non-fungible token. Lindsay Lohan put out an NFT called “Lightning” on Rarible. YouTube Logan Paul is also in the business of digital art.
Meanwhile, Christie’s made a major sale rivaled only by Beeple’s “Everydays: The First 5,000 Days” $69M March sale. The $16.9M purchase was for a bundle of nine NFT CryptoPunks.