eBay is now offering NFTs for digital collectibles, such as trading cards, images or video clips, on its platform.
Unlike Auction houses Christie's and Sotheby's selling high-end digital artwork NFTs, eBay's NFTs will be more affordable for the everyday person. A digital artwork by Beedle which recently sold for a mere $69 million certainly exceeds the budget of most.
Jordon Sweetnam, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Ebay's North American Market recently stated:
In the coming months eBay will add new capabilities that bring blockchain-driven collectibles to our platform.
Unlike many offerings that are available in America before finally hitting Australian shores months or years later, if you're here in Australia you too can purchase NFTs from ebay.com.au. Currently the NFT inventory is provided by sellers who meet eBay's standards and is limited in nature, but eBay is working on programs, policies and tools that will enable the buying and selling of NFTs across a broader range of categories.
Such an offering may have regulatory implications for eBay, as a virtual asset service provider (VASP). As the regulatory regimes throughout the world continue to adopt the FATF recommendations, this could require eBay to identify and verify customers purchasing NFTs, monitor transactions and report to regulatory authorities, such as AUSTRAC and its international counterparts.
This may only be the start of eBay embracing blockchain technologies as eBay has also recently stated it is open to the possibility of accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment.