Amazon Enters Web3 Jungle With NFT Initiative Launching This Spring

• Blockchain Council
• September 17, 2024

Four sources with an understanding of the situation claim that Amazon is starting a digital assets business and that an NFT project is anticipated for the spring.

Insiders claim that Amazon’s campaign for digital collectibles has now been directed at major market players. It reportedly included layer-1 blockchains, blockchain-based game businesses, developers, and digital asset exchanges among those entities. Two sources claim that blockchain-based gaming and related NFT technologies have received much attention, and Amazon has been working on it for a long time to build and explore Web3 technologies.

One report claimed that one example is persuading Amazon consumers to play crypto games and earn free NFTs.

Sources claimed that the effort is still in development. The e-commerce firm has planned to announce its big crypto plans in April.

As per the source Amazon “coming into the space” is “a big one” for crypto “for many different reasons.

The source stated that “We knew it was possible.” But now it’s happening. That will affect the existing players in the space — if they execute and do this right and are smart about it.”

According to one of the individuals, the Amazon executives behind the initiative have recently contacted at least one family office. According to the same source, the initial plan included doing at least one NFT drop, including an artist. Since then, Amazon’s Web3 blueprint has undergone tremendous development.

Amazon has not yet revealed anything certain about the team that will manage NFT project. The platform is under development and would support some NFT gaming activities. However, two insiders claim that it won’t be based on Amazon Web Services, the company’s well-known web hosting infrastructure, but rather on Amazon itself.

Amazon has recently looked into numerous more Web3 projects. One insider also mentioned the need for several internal workers for the platform and Amazon’s ensuing cryptocurrency experiments.

While occasionally posting positions for developers and engineers in the Web3 industry, Amazon Web Services is less well-recognized for exploring the cryptocurrency and blockchain sectors. After being introduced in 2013, the Amazon Coins program is still operating. However, it functions more like a standard loyalty program than a cryptocurrency project.

The CEO of Amazon, Andy Jassy, has recently stated that the firm is ready to sell NFTs and isn’t blocking any cryptocurrencies.

The full scope of Amazon’s Web3 aims and ultimate objectives is also up for debate. It’s unclear if the firm plans to compete with companies like OpenSea or Rarible; according to two insiders, both would consider a successful launch a serious threat.

“With the [number] of customers Amazon has, they could make a huge splash in the NFT marketplace,” a source stated.

According to data from Dune Analytics, over 2.5 million users have engaged with OpenSea, the top NFT platform as of today, based on trade volume.

Emin Gün Sirer of Ava Labs, the organization behind the Avalanche blockchain, recently announced a partnership with AWS and said “a huge boon for both individual and enterprise developers to be able to spin up nodes and test networks on the fly with AWS in whatever legal jurisdiction makes the most sense for them. ”

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