Why Walmart May Follow Facebook Into the Crypto World

investopedia.com:

Walmart Inc. (WMT), the nation's largest retailer and a leader in the use of blockchain technology that is facing intense competition from tech giants like Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), may introduce digital coins across its close to 11,000 stores in more than two dozen countries. The company has applied to patent a method of utilizing a digital coin which is pegged to a traditional fiat currency, according to a filing published on August 1 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. If successful, the method could enable transactions that are both faster and less expensive than alternatives, as well as offer loyalty features. Walmart has already been at the vanguard of the blockchain space, and it now appears that the retail giant is following in the steps of other major companies like Facebook (FB) in exploring new opportunities available through cryptocurrencies.

For the last year, Walmart has partnered with IBM (IBM) to revolutionize its produce supply chain with the use of blockchain technology, according to TechCrunch; suppliers must upload data to a blockchain ledger to aid in efficiency should an issue like a product recall come up. Blockchain has allowed the once-manual process to become fully digitized, and in doing so has increased transparency and traceability as well.

Facebook recently made headlines when it announced it would launch its own platform-wide digital currency. Walmart's next venture into the digital currency space looks somewhat different. Per the patent application, which details a «system and method for digital currency via blockchain,» Walmart seeks to patent a process whereby a unit of a digital currency which is linked to a «regular» currency, in this case the U.S. dollar. Transactions involving