The last time eBay truly dominated news headlines may have been in 2015, when it split from payments giant PayPal. Since then, the online marketplace has been quietly fending off new competitors including Amazon, Etsy, Rakuten, Mercari, and even Facebook Marketplace.
Today, however, the California-based company made an announcement that will help differentiate it from every other online marketplace– the company’s users can now buy and sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs). According to eBay’s updated policy, trusted sellers can now list and sell NFTs across multiple categories.
“This isn’t new to eBay,” said Senior Vice President and General Manager for eBay’s North America Market Jordan Sweetnam. “For 25+ years we’ve been the world’s destination for collectibles, connecting millions of buyers with sellers who have deep knowledge of the things they care about most. Our platform has helped collectors turn their hobbies into their livelihoods and, along the way, collectibles – ranging from beanie babies and railroad memorabilia to high-end art and rare coins – became an alternate asset class, combining passion with investment.”
Currently, eBay is allowing NFTs that fit categories such as trading cards, music, entertainment, and art. However, the company notes it will expand to facilitate the sales of NFTs across more categories.
You may inherently associate NFTs with cryptocurrencies because they, too, are held on the blockchain. However, eBay has not indicated any current plans to accept cryptocurrencies as a form of payment, so users can expect to pay for their NFT using a traditional online payment method such as a credit card.
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