Walmart jumps into cryptocurrency and Bitcoin rises

After a period of uncertainty, there is some really good news for the cryptocurrencyA digital currency running on a blockchain and built with cryptography. Contrary to central-bank issued currency, cryptocurrency issuance rules are... More market. The giant retailer Walmart just posted a new vacancy for a “Digital Currency and Cryptocurrency Product Lead” in the United States. The full implications of this fact are yet to be seen. However, the BitcoinBitcoin is the first decentralized digital currency. It was created in 2009, by an anonymous founder or group of founders... More (BTCAn abbreviation for Bitcoin.) price is rising again, with an added percentage of 5% in the last 24 hours (+$47,700 per coin).

According to the vacancy announcement, they’re seeking “a visionary leader” who will “Own and drive the Digital Currency strategy for Walmart”. They don’t specify exactly what this strategy will be used for. However, it’s possible that, eventually, they’ll start accepting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a payment method on their shops through 24 countries.

Likewise, another required function for the Product Lead is “Identify Crypto related investment and partnerships”. This would mean that Walmart is planning to invest directly in cryptocurrencies and/or in blockchainBlockchain is a type of database storing an immutable set of data, verifiable to anyone with access to it —through... companies. Indeed, for four months, there have been some rumors about a huge Bitcoin purchase by this company.

On the other hand, Walmart applied for a patent for their own cryptocurrency two years ago. From the description, this one would be specifically a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. Dollar. Initially, this stablecoin would mainly work for donations or rewards, more than daily payments.

In any case, it seems like Walmart doesn’t want to stay behind its biggest competitor, Amazon. This company is also looking for its own cryptocurrency expert, although they refused an intention for accepting crypto payments on their platform.

Walmart, cryptocurrencies, and blockchain

Long before this news, Walmart has been very interested in blockchain technology beyond the financial world. They started using it for supply chains, especially for food. This way, a distributedA distributed system is made of components that are running on different networked computers, which communicate and coordinate their actions... More ledgerA ledger is like a spreadsheet keeping track of which addresses own how many bitcoins. The Bitcoin blockchain is a... More would track the origin, safety, and authenticity of several products, including food from China and drugs from companies like Merck and Pfizer.

Eventually, they started to apply for several patents including blockchain technology. A “smart package” delivered by drones and tracked with blockchain is one example. Other patents are a “vendor payment sharing system” to improve online shopping, and “methods for delivering products via autonomous ground vehicles to restricted areas designated by customers” with authentications on the blockchain.

Beyond this, over 1,600 Walmart customers have signed several petitions on Change.org for the company to begin accepting Dogecoin (DOGE) as a payment method. Curiously enough, there are no massive petitions for Bitcoin yet. However, the latter would probably be the first cryptocurrency to be accepted by the retailer, if the opportunity comes.


Featured Image by Gerd Altmann / Pixabay

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