This week, outlets reported on Amazon’s new job posting for a Digital Currency and Blockchain Product Lead. The position will be focused on product strategy, though an Amazon spokesperson intimated that the company could be looking at beginning to accept payments utilizing blockchain-based technologies.

This marks a shift from 2017 when then-Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy said, “We don't yet see a lot of practical use cases for blockchain that are much broader than using a distributed ledger. We don't build technology because we think the technology is cool, we only build it if we think we can solve a customer problem and building that service is the best way to solve it."

“My, how four years can change things. In the scheme of things, four years is a short amount of time, but in the technological world, it is an eternity. This posting is a clear indication that the blockchain community has been right all along. This is a technology which is truly transformative --- and one which is here to stay,” said Richard Gardner, CEO of Modulus, a US-based developer of ultra-high-performance trading and surveillance technology that powers global equities, derivatives, and digital asset exchanges.

"Responding to questions about the position, an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement, “We’re inspired by the innovation happening in the cryptocurrency space and are exploring what this could look like on Amazon. 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 last line. That’s actually even more telling that the newly created position. What it hints at is that the company is beginning to look at how it will accept blockchain-based payments. Whether that means that the company is looking at the potential of accepting Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies isn’t explicitly stated, but I think it can be assumed that leadership sees that CBDCs, digital currencies developed by central banks, are most certainly going to transform the way the world accepts payments. Amazon is no exception,” noted Gardner.

The job description itself notes that “[y]ou will leverage your domain expertise in Blockchain, Distributed Ledger, Central Bank Digital Currencies and Cryptocurrency to develop the case for the capabilities which should be developed, drive overall vision and product strategy, and gain leadership buy-in and investment for new capabilities.”

“What we’re seeing is that multinational companies are already scrambling to make sure that their technology stack is suited for the digital transformation that’s underway. Particularly with China being bullish on the e-yuan, I think they understand that, no matter what, a very large consumer block will very soon be participating, en masse, in blockchain-based payments. Once China is officially in, it’s only a matter of time until you see other superpowers release their own CBDCs,” said Gardner.

Modulus is known throughout the financial technology segment as a leader in the development of ultra-high frequency trading systems and blockchain technologies. Over the past twenty years, the company has built technology for the world’s most notable exchanges, with a client list which includes NASA, NASDAQ, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Barclays, Siemens, Shell, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Cornell University, and the University of Chicago.

“This is a process that will continue to play out over the next few years,” said Gardner. “I consider it this generation’s Race to Space. You’re already seeing countries jockeying for position. Who will be the first superpower, who will be the first regional player? There is room for a handful of winners in this race for a CBDC. Forward-thinking countries already see the implications,” opined Gardner.