American E-commerce giant, Amazon, the multi-billion dollar firm, are set to make their first foray into the NFT world. They’re doing this following on from similar companies such as Google and Meta. They are due to introduce an NFT marketplace in the next month, according to some.
Quick Takes:
- Amazon is reportedly ready to launch NFT collections on its own marketplace as soon as next month.
- The service will be available only in the US to begin with.
- The marketplace will accept only traditional payment methods like credit cards.
Amazon’s NFT Plans
Jeff Bezos founded Amazon is reportedly gearing up to enter the NFT market. A launch date is reportedly scheduled for next month. According to sources, Amazon will introduce 15 collections on launch day. They will be available on its website via the “Amazon Digital Marketplace” tab. However, the service will only be available to US-based users, who will be restricted to using traditional payment methods such as credit cards.
The NFTs will not be purchasable with cryptocurrency, which is a departure from many other NFT marketplaces. It is worth noting that Amazon previously announced a partnership with Ava Labs in January. They started this with the aim of accelerating their entry into the web3 space. The marketplace was originally planned for an earlier launch, but it appears that Amazon is ready to make its move into the NFT market slightly later than initially anticipated.
The Exact Details
Although a specific launch date has not been confirmed, The Big Whale has reported that Amazon’s NFT marketplace is set to launch on April 24th. This has yet to be officially confirmed, however, so it’s possible that the launch could be pushed back. One interesting aspect of Amazon’s NFT launch is that the company has plans to focus on web3 gaming moving forward. This could be a sign that Amazon is looking to tap into the growing interest in blockchain-based gaming. That sub-sector of web3 as a whole has certainly seen significant growth over the past two years.
The Future
Amazon‘s entry into the NFT market is a significant development, as the company is one of the largest online marketplaces, and businesses overall, in the world. The move is likely to increase mainstream awareness of NFTs, which could help to drive further adoption of the technology.
However, it remains to be seen how Amazon’s marketplace will differentiate itself from other NFT marketplaces, and whether it will be able to compete with established players such as OpenSea and new kid on the block, Blur.
Despite the limitations of only being available to US-based users and the lack of support for cryptocurrency payments, Amazon’s entry into the NFT market is likely to be a major talking point in the coming weeks. The company’s focus on web3 gaming also suggests that it is looking to tap into the potential of blockchain technology beyond NFTs. Those moves could have broader implications for the wider tech industry.
