Walmart CTO Weighs in on Role of Crypto Disruption
- Crypto is in the midst of technological disruption, Walmart’s CTO said
- Walmart has previously filed trademark and patent applications to cash in on the metaverse
The chief technology officer of the world’s largest retailer believes crypto is in three areas of technological disruption: product discovery, payment and delivery.
In remarks at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit on Oct. 17, Walmart CTO Suresh Kumar said Walmart is well aware of the technology trends in retail, and the potential ways Web3 could affect how customers shop in the future.
“I’ve talked before about the way customers are inspired and discover products — which is changing — and part of that is going to happen in Metaverse,” Kumar said.
The retail giant also plans to adapt to customer demands for new payment rails, Kumar said.
“I think a lot of the disruption is going to start happening in terms of different payment methods, different payment options … crypto is going to continue to play a very important role in that,” Kumar said.
“Crypto will become an important part of how customers shop. We want to make sure that we make it as frictionless for customers to be able to shop, and to be able to buy, and how they can get value out of it,” he said.
Other Crypto Walmart Links
Walmart has previously added members to its board of directors who also have ties to the crypto industry.
The company’s lead independent director, Tom Horton, who also sits on the board of Blockchain.com, told Blockworks in February: “I see blockchain technologies as another big enabler, much like the internet was in its early days.”
Sarah Friar joined Walmart’s board in February 2018 and earlier this year became a board member of industry powerhouse ConsenSys, where she advises the company on Web3 business models. She is also a former CFO at Square, before its blockchain-focused rebranding as Block.
Walmart is currently pursuing non-blockchain metaverse-like experiences with Roblox. The company filed 7 patents by the end of 2021 related to NFTs and metaverse.
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Macaulay Peterson
