Online retailer eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) has announced that it will allow the sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) such as digital trading cards, images or video clips on its platform.
eBay becomes the first e-commerce company to allow the sale of NFTs. The virtual assets that exist on a blockchain ledger have exploded in popularity this year, as enthusiasts spend millions of dollars on digital artwork and other items that exist only online, with some selling for tens of millions of dollars at auction houses such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s.
While multi-million-dollar deals, including the $69-million sale of digital artwork by the artist Beeple, have shaken the art world, a market for digital collectibles such as NFT trading cards, images and video clips is also thriving.
In the short term, an NFT inventory will be provided to sellers who meet eBay's standards, the company said, adding that users can expect to see programs, policies and tools in the future that will let them buy and sell NFTs across a broader range of categories.
The announcement comes after eBay said last week that it is open to the possibility of accepting cryptocurrencies as a form of payment on its platform in the future. NFTs are usually bought with the cryptocurrency Ethereum or in dollars, and the blockchain keeps a record of the transaction.
