Airbnb may soon add support for cryptocurrencies and tokenize some of its services. The peer-to-peer rental giant made reference to cryptocurrencies and blockchain in its prospectus for its proposed initial public offering (IPO) sent to the SEC.
Airbnb realizes the potential of cryptocurrencies
The company recently filed a proposed IPO with the US regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In the document, Crypto Bank platform very frequently returns to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has greatly affected its operations.
Airbnb is aware of this, if the company does not manage to adapt to technological changes and to the evolution of the demands of its users, its future remains uncertain in the face of the competition.
It is to stay up to date that the housing rental platform is considering the acceptance of cryptocurrencies and the tokenization of its services :
„Our future success will depend … on our ability to adapt to emerging technologies such as tokenization, cryptocurrency, new authentication technologies, such as biometrics, distributed ledger and blockchain technologies [ …], ”says Airbnb.
Although these comments appear in the “Risk factors” section of the document, Airbnb states its intention to continue to spend significant resources to maintain, develop and improve the technologies and its platform.
Nonetheless, Airbnb adds that ongoing research into these potential additions is likely to be more costly than expected, and may not be successful .
That said, the fact that Airbnb mentions cryptocurrencies and blockchain is not trivial. In 2016, the company said it was not considering accepting Bitcoin (BTC) as a payment method .
The changing tourism industry
Airbnb feels threatened by new emerging platforms, which already integrate cryptocurrencies and various technologies improving the user experience. Impossible not to mention Travala.com , the crypto-friendly hotel and flight booking platform .
Recently launched, Travala.com has managed to forge major partnerships with groups such as Booking, Expedia and Agoda . In addition, and despite the general decline in tourist flows across the world in 2020, Travala has succeeded in attracting tens of thousands of customers.
By accepting cryptocurrency, Travala.com and many other platforms such as Ulysses travel agency attract new customers and offer them a better experience.
Even if Airbnb remains the juggernaut in its sector – and this for a long time to come – the company must renew its offer to maintain its leadership position in the long term.
Airbnb could therefore very soon accept cryptocurrencies . Knowing that the company already accepts PayPal, adding cryptocurrency support is now very easy via this trusted intermediary .