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Vacation rental giant Airbnb is planning to integrate blockchain technology and digital currency into its business, in a move that could see millions of customers from around the world interacting with digital currencies for the first time on the platform.
According to its IPO prospectus filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Airbnb is exploring several applications of blockchain technology. Previously, the company had said it did not intend to support cryptocurrency payments.
In the filing, Airbnb said its future success will depend on its ability to embrace new technologies like blockchain, in order to support and develop its platform.
“Future success will depend … on our ability to adapt to emerging technologies such as tokenization, cryptocurrencies and new authentication technologies. As a result, we intend to continue to expend significant resources to maintain, develop and improve our technologies and our platform. However, these efforts may be more expensive than expected and may not be successful. “
Notably, the deposit addresses the challenges faced by the company due to travel restrictions required by COVID-19, which saw revenues plummet 39% from last year.
“In early 2020, when COVID-19 disrupted travel around the world, Airbnb’s business declined significantly, but within two months our business model started to rebound even with limited international travel. demonstrating his resilience. “
Despite its earlier rejection of digital currencies, the filing shows Airbnb may change its mind, part of a broader trend towards large companies adopting digital currency payments in recent months.
Airbnb is among several international companies that have begun accepting digital currencies in the wake of the pandemic. Notably, online payment company PayPal now allows its users to transact in cryptocurrencies, allowing all PayPal-supported merchants to receive payments in digital currency.
If Airbnb officially accepted digital currency payments, the move should generate significant interest within the Bitcoin community, as well as raise the profile of digital currencies for payment more widely.
See also: HandCash Alex Agut talks to CoinGeek Live about making Bitcoin easy for everyone to use
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