Here's What Walmart's CTO Thinks About The Future Of Crypto

A lot of disruption is going to start happening in terms of different payment methods and options with cryptocurrencies playing an important role in how customers transact, according to Suresh Kumar, global chief technology officer at retail giant Walmart Inc WMT.

Speaking at Yahoo Finance's All Markets Summit on Monday, Kumar said cryptos are all about the discovery of products - physical or virtual.

“Crypto will become an important part of how customers transact. We want to make sure that we make it 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,” Kumar said.

“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 (the) discovery of products, whether it is physical or virtual inside, either the Metaverse or upfront and then how people transact,” he added.

Walmart’s relation with the metaverse

Walmart registered a number of new trademarks pertaining to cryptocurrencies and the metaverse at the end of the previous year, effectively paving the way for the nation's largest retailer to create its own cryptocurrency and NFTs within a metaverse—an online network of worlds that combines elements of augmented, virtual, and physical reality.

When Walmart announced the introduction of "Walmart Land" and "Walmart's Universe of Play," two online game worlds within the well-known gaming platform Roblox Corp RBLX, their entry into the cryptosphere took another step.

Walmart's decision may act as a launching pad for a deeper exploration of virtual worlds that eventually takes the retailer into Web3 metaverse games based around NFTs and other crypto technologies.

Also read: 3AC Being Investigated By SEC And CFTC: What Happens To Its Founders Now?

Crypto price action

Bitcoin BTC/USD is currently trading around $19,414, up 1.5% compared to the previous day.

Ethereum ETH/USD meanwhile, is up 1.4% and trading around the $1,310 level.

For over a month, both have been consistently trading sideways.

However, despite having reached an all-time high last year, Bitcoin’s correlation with equities is still at historic highs, and the price is still heavily determined by macro events like important economic data releases and central bank policies.

Next: Bitcoin's Volatility Below Equities: Boon Or Bane?

Photo: Courtesy of Mike Mozart on flickr