Walmart seeks crypto product lead to drive digital currency strategy

North American retail giant Walmart is looking for an experienced crypto expert who can develop and drive an ambitious digital currency strategy and product roadmap. 

In the listing for the role, Walmart indicates it is looking for someone who has a track record in leading and scaling businesses, with at least 10 years of experience in product/program management and technology-based product commercialization. The ideal candidate should have expertise in cryptocurrencies and blockchain-related technologies and in-depth knowledge of the crypto ecosystem and its core actors.

Walmart has hinted at the focus of its future digital currency strategy by noting that it already enables a “broad set of payment options for its customers” — although not yet in cryptocurrency. Back in 2019, Walmart had already filed a patent for a blockchain-based United States dollar-backed digital currency that was, at the time, similar to Facebook’s early proposals for what was then known as Libra. 

This year, Walmart created a fintech venture called “Hazel,” which could reportedly be poised to offer a wide range of financial services integrated into a “mobile-first ‘super-app.‘” 

Walmart’s future Digital Currency and Crypto Product Lead will be based in the company’s home office in Bentonville, Arkansas. In addition to developing and driving an overall crypto strategy, their key tasks will be to involve identifying customer needs and translating them into product requirements; forging partnerships with product, technology and design leaders; committing to a crypto product roadmap and driving the project’s execution; and identifying crypto-related investment opportunities and partnerships.

Among North American megafirms, Walmart is not alone in seeking to integrate digital currency into its e-commerce and wider business strategy. This February, Amazon posted a job listing for a leader to oversee a new digital currency service in Mexico that would allow users to spend digital currency while shopping.

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In addition to its slow foray into digital currency proper, Walmart’s blockchain-related projects have to date centered on using the technology for applications that include supply chain management, customer marketplaces and smart appliances.