Starbucks Could Serve Up a Blockchain Payments App
“I think blockchain technology is probably the rails in which an integrated app at Starbucks will be sitting on top of.”
“It’s not currency. I can’t go to Starbucks or Amazon and use [it.] … These are digital assets. If the asset solves a real problem for a real customer, then there’ll be value in the asset.” — Brad Garlinghouse at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit on Crypto
Blockchain, Yes. Bitcoin, No.
But Schultz has no interest in bitcoin, having shunned the cryptocurrency likely for lengthy transaction times and hefty fees that have plagued the network.
Blockchain technology could be the gateway for the company to accept a cryptocurrency that’s more conducive to payments. The public ledger could also be a way to demonstrate its commitment to ethically sourced ingredients for menu-items, with the ability to track products such as coffee and cocoa from farm to table. Schutz emphasized the company’s commitment to the community, and the public ledger is certainly a good way to record and share it.
No Blockchain Pop
Schultz made the comments on Feb. 27, and the stock didn’t maintain the typical “blockchain bounce” that listed companies get for associating blockchain with their operations in some way.
Schultz’s noted the company’s long-term view, one that won’t be driven by any one quarter’s performance. He’s more focused on making the brand as relevant outside retail locations as inside, which he says is the “real question” for all brick-and-mortar stores these days.