Amazon Looks To Hire Blockchain And Digital Currency Leader

Key Takeaways

• Amazon is hiring a digital currency and blockchain leader, according to a newly published job posting.
• The new hire will have expertise in cryptocurrency, distributed ledgers, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
• The leader will help Amazon plan a digital currency roadmap, though Amazon has not announced specific plans.

E-commerce giant Amazon has published a job posting aiming to hire a digital currency and blockchain product lead.

Hire Will Have Crypto Expertise

The job posting notes that the hire will lead “Amazon’s Digital Currency and Blockchain strategy and product roadmap.” They will also create a case for the development of product capabilities.

One section of the job posting explicitly mentions the “digital/cryptocurrency ecosystem,” while another asks the candidate to have expertise in the areas of blockchain, distributed ledgers, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and cryptocurrency.

Amazon has at least 70 other open job postings related to blockchain. However, most of those postings are related to developer services offered through Amazon Web Services (AWS). The company does not currently use cryptocurrency for financial transactions.

How Will Amazon Use Crypto?

Amazon has previously introduced its own means of digital payment, such as Amazon Coins, in 2013. It also hinted at a digital currency for Mexico through a series of job postings in February. The company then created a job posting related to DeFi in June.

Rumors began to circulate around a possible Amazon cryptocurrency this spring as Andy Jassy prepared to take over the role of CEO from Jeff Bezos. Jassy was the former head of AWS, which introduced managed blockchain services under his leadership.

This most recent job posting is the most explicit reference that the company has made to the possibility of developing a cryptocurrency solution.

Still, given that the role will give significant freedom to the hire, it appears that Amazon has not settled on anything specific yet. It is unclear whether it will develop its own cryptocurrency, integrate Bitcoin payments, or develop something unrelated.

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