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Walmart Is the latest Fortune 500 Company hiring a cryptocurrency expert

August 17, 2021

Walmart is hiring a cryptocurrency expert to potentially expand its virtual payment options as a growing number of Fortune 500 companies warm up to digital currencies. 

The position will be based in Walmart’s Bentonville, Arkansas headquarters and responsible for developing the retailer’s “digital currency strategy and product roadmap” as well as identifying “crypto-related investment and partnerships,” according to the job posting on Walmart’s website. 

As investments in cryptocurrency surge, so has the number of jobs in the crypto market: according to a new report from Indeed Hiring Lab, postings for cryptocurrency jobs on Indeed have jumped 118% compared to last year. Hiring has expanded beyond engineering and product development roles, the report shows, into support functions like accounting and human resources as well. 

Walmart is looking for a “visionary leader” with at least 10 years of product management or technology experience to develop its blockchain strategy, preferably someone possessing “significant functional knowledge of the cryptocurrency ecosystem” and an “entrepreneurial mindset,” according to the job posting, which Bloomberg reported.

The retailer’s crypto expansion comes just weeks after Amazon advertised a similar role seeking a “digital currency and blockchain product lead” to join their payments team. 

“We’re inspired by the innovation happening in the cryptocurrency space and are exploring what this could look like on Amazon,” an Amazon spokesperson told CNBC at the time. “We believe the future will be built on new technologies that enable modern, fast, and inexpensive payments, and hope to bring that future to Amazon customers as soon as possible.”

That sentiment has been echoed by other Fortune 500 companies such as JPMorgan Chase, Apple and PayPal, which are all hiring for cryptocurrency positions. Some companies including Starbucks, Whole Foods and Home Depot already allow customers to pay with cryptocurrency indirectly through applications that convert the digital currency into U.S. dollars. 

 Both celebrities and investors from underrepresented groups including low-income workers and women have embraced the decentralized asset to grow their wealth outside of the traditional stock market. A recent survey by NORC at the University of Chicago found that 13% of Americans bought or traded crypto over the past year, compared with 24% who invested in stocks. 

Sensing crypto’s staying power, lawmakers have begun debating reporting protocols and taxes on the digital currency. “The industry has reached a tipping point,” Jonathan Tamblyn, the director of talent acquisition for cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, recently said. “Larger, well-established companies are recognizing the validity and longevity of crypto.” 












Source: CNBC