Walmart CTO opines cryptocurrencies will disrupt payments

The global chief technology officer at Walmart, Suresh Kumar, has opined that cryptocurrencies will cause a “major” disruption in the payment sector. Kumar said that cryptocurrencies would affect how people pay for virtual and physical goods in the future.

Walmart CTO says crypto will disrupt payments

While giving a speech at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit on October 17, Kumar said that Walmart was taking a positive stance on crypto assets. He added that digital assets would become the main component in customer transactions involving physical and virtual goods.

Kumar said three main areas could cause disruption, adding that crypto was at the center of it. He also explained that there was a change in how customers were being inspired and how they were discovering products.

Kumar has also added that there would be an influx of customers receiving advertisements through the metaverse and live streams on social media applications. These areas would become a key payment option for these areas.

“When you specifically talk about crypto, it is going to be about the discovery of products, whether it is physical or virtual inside, either the Metaverse or upfront and then how people transact,” Kumar added.

Walmart’s journey into crypto adoption

The remarks made by Kumar could explain why the retail giant is moving towards the crypto sector and the metaverse. Walmart recently entered into the Roblox Metaverse and launched Walmart Land towards the end of last month.

Walmart is also hosting several virtual experiences like games, a DJ booth, and Ferris wheel. It has also offered virtual merchandise products dubbed “verch” that will be used as avatars for users.

The Roblox metaverse is yet to integrate non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies. However, the retail giant made patent filings in January, revealing plans to create digital currencies, NFTs, and tokens within the metaverse in the future.

Kumar has said that the company planned to ensure it was easier for customers to complete transactions, make purchases, and derive value from them. He added that disruption would start with adopting new payment methods and other payment options.

There have been multiple rumors about the plans of the multinational retail company to start offering support for cryptocurrency payments. Nevertheless, most of these rumors have been proven false, including a rumored partnership with Litecoin. Last year, it was rumored that Walmart was partnering with Litecoin, but the retail giant dismissed these allegations.

On the other hand, it might not be too long before Walmart adopts crypto payments because of the high level of digital asset adoption across the US. The adoption of crypto payments by Walmart could ignite another bull run.

In October 2021, around 200 Bitcoin ATMs were installed at Walmart stores across the United States. The retail giant also announced plans to increase the number of these ATMs to 8000 in the future.

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