Airbnb’s IPO prospectus says future success means adapting to cryptocurrencies

Airbnb, the giant online rental marketplace based in San Francisco, is considering the possibility of supporting cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. The news comes from the company’s prospectus of the company’s initial public offering (IPO) with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Airbnb filing notes that future success will depend on adapting to new technologies such as tokenization and cryptocurrencies.

• The travel sector has been one of the sectors most affected by the economy after the coronavirus outbreak rocked the world. In a recent filing with the SEC, Airbnb filed a prospectus on November 16 asking for a $ 1 billion initial public offering (IPO) in the United States.
• On Airbnb’s prospectus pages, the company mentions consideration of technologies such as blockchain, cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence (AI) and the “ability to integrate new or emerging payment methods.”
• In 2014, Airbnb rep Brian Chesky asked his Twitter followers if Airbnb should accept bitcoin. A large number of Twitter respondents said the company should adopt cryptocurrencies.
• In 2016, during an interview with City AM, Airbnb co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Nathan Blecharczyk talked about M-pesa and blockchain technology.

They should @Airbnb to accept Bitcoin?

– Brian Chesky (@bchesky) January 24, 2014

• “Our future success will also depend on our ability to adapt to emerging technologies such as tokenization, cryptocurrencies, [and] new authentication technologies, “Airbnb’s storage details.” As a result, we intend to continue to spend significant resources to maintain, develop and improve our technologies and platform. However, these efforts may be more expensive than expected and may not be successful “.
• While the company mentioned blockchain, cryptocurrency, and augmented reality, Airbnb reported a 39% year-over-year revenue loss due to the coronavirus pandemic.
• The company says that after this year’s steep drop, Airbnb rebounded two months later. “In early 2020, when Covid-19 disrupted travel around the world, Airbnb’s business dropped significantly, but within two months our business model started to rebound even with limited international travel. proving its resilience, “says Airbnb.

• Airbnb has stated in the past that it currently has no plans to support cryptocurrency payments from blockchain networks such as Bitcoin. Airbnb and Uber investor Jeffrey Wernick argued in 2018 that “everyone should put something in cryptocurrency”.
• In April 2016, Airbnb acquired startup Changecoin when the billion-dollar company “hired the acquisition” of seven developers from the now defunct bitcoin tipping platform Changetip.
• The new authentication technologies mentioned in the Airbnb prospectus included: “Biometrics, distributed ledger and blockchain technologies, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality and cloud technologies.”

Airbnb IPO prospectus filed with US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can be read in its entirety Here.

What do you think of the mega short-term property rental company Airbnb that mentions cryptocurrencies and blockchain in its IPO prospectus? Let us know what you think about this topic in the comments section below.

Image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Airbnb logo,