Walmart CTO: ‘Crypto Will Become an Important Part of How Customers Transact’

On Monday (October 17), Suresh Kumar, the CTO of Walmart, which is the world’s largest retailer by revenue, shared his thoughts on crypto at Yahoo Finance’s All Markets Summit.

Kumar had this to say about the role of crypto in Walmart’s future:

“I think that there are three major areas of disruption. Crypto falls in sort of the middle of it. I have talked before about the way in which customers are getting inspired and discovering products. That is changing.

“And part of that is going to happen in the Metaverse. Part of that is going to happen on live streams, inside your social media app. So whether it is physical goods or virtual goods, they play a part in terms of what the customer wants.

“Crypto will become an important part of how customers transact. We want to make sure that we make it as friction free for customers to be able to transact, and to be able to buy, and how they are able to derive value out of it. And that is where– I think a lot of the disruption is going to start happening in terms of different payment methods, different payment options.

“The role of crypto is going to continue to play a very important role in that. And obviously, we want to be there where the customer really needs us to be. The last part of it is how products get discovered, products get delivered. A lot of disruption going on over there. But when you specifically talk about crypto, it is going to be about discovery of products, whether it is physical or virtual inside, either the Metaverse or upfront, and then how people transact.“

On 16 January 2022, CNBC reported that Walmart “appears to be venturing into the metaverse with plans to create its own cryptocurrency and collection of non-fungible tokens, or NFTs.”

The CNBC report went on to say:

“The big-box retailer filed several new trademarks late last month that indicate its intent to make and sell virtual goods, including electronics, home decorations, toys, sporting goods and personal care products. In a separate filing, Walmart said it would offer users a virtual currency, as well as NFTs. According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Walmart filed the applications on Dec. 30. In total, seven separate applications have been submitted.“

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