Serious speculations abound that the largest e-commerce company in the world will begin offering NFTs. Three people with knowledge of the situation have stated that Amazon is preparing to allow its customers to buy NFTs backed by physical assets and have them shipped directly to their homes.
According to sources, Amazon customers would be able to buy a trendy NFT attached to, say, a pair of jeans and pay for it with a credit card, just like they would for any other product on the website. It has been reported by many sources that Amazon is planning to develop its own private blockchain system, albeit it is unclear whether this would be accomplished by a fork of an existing protocol or not. To the best of the authors’ knowledge at the time of publishing, it was also unclear whether or not an Amazon token would be included in the arrangement; one source described the system as “quite walled garden.” This is a major improvement over the e-commerce giant’s prior steps in establishing its NFT platform, which were also highlighted by Blockworks. And once the digital collectibles project is online, the business plans to notify all Amazon Prime customers, at least in the US, two other people added.
The Big Whale reported April 24 as the debut date for the vast company, although this appears to be subject to change. The Amazon spokesman said they couldn’t comment. Amazon’s plan has been compared to Starbucks’ loyalty programme with Polygon in that “they can enroll thousands of users without educating the people about self-custody,” according to one source. There are roughly 167 million Amazon Prime members in the United States at present. At the latest, two sources predicted that the launch would occur in May of this year. With Amazon’s backing, digital assets and their accompanying Web3 ecosystems could finally enter the mainstream.
Amazon is considering emailing all Prime members in the United States to promote its digital collectibles initiative, according to a reliable source. Two more insiders have confirmed that the corporation intends to inform Prime members in some way, either before or after the product launches. It’s unclear what blockchain technology will be used in the background, and the corporation appears to have toyed with several potential integration strategies since it began working on the lofty project. The Amazon team working on the project has reached out to layer-1 blockchains, digital gaming firms, and other startups and long-standing initiatives dealing with digital assets. Dozens more Web3-focused developers have been hired by or are in talks with the company about joining the team.
The Amazon NFT Scandal Rumor Mill is in Full Gear
There was talk around the end of January that Amazon was working on launching NFTs as part of its Web3 gaming strategy. This would restrict NFTs to to those who have Amazon Prime and buy actual goods. A specialised Web3 media portal, TheBigWhale, cited unnamed sources to back up the claim that Amazon is readying the debut of Amazon Digital Marketplace for April 24.
Amazon had planned to release it earlier, but the company had to postpone the debut owing to the impact from FTX. Amazon’s endeavour is unique because it focuses on “real-world assets” rather than just “digital ones,” like the Web3 plan does. Although it is still unclear whether the Amazon Digital Marketplace will debut in April or May as has been speculated, there is a more vital topic to investigate. In the midst of the current “crypto cold,” what does this mean for the broader crypto ecosystem?
Web3 Entry Amazon As expected
Amazon’s entry into the digital asset market would come as no surprise even if there were no rumours circulating about it. After all, with a market price of $1 trillion, Amazon is much more than just another online retailer. The organisation operates in several interconnected markets. Marketing network with ad sales up 23% to $11.6 billion in Q4 of FY22. Amazon’s vast vendor, seller, and brand ecosystem allows for substantial ad revenue, which in turn supports Amazon’s core e-commerce operation.
Amazon is a content provider through its various channels, including Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Studios, and the MGM Studios, Twitch, Audible, IMDb, and other platforms it has bought. With the addition of Whole Foods and the debut of Amazon Go locations, the company’s physical retail division saw net sales rise by 9% year-over-year, to $514 billion, in the fourth quarter of 2022.
In conclusion, when it comes to commercial logistics, no one does order fulfilment on a larger scale or with more complexity than Amazon. The price of logistics has also been on the rise. With a projected $151.8 billion in net sales in 2021, Amazon’s logistics expenditures will rise from their 2019 level of 27.9% of sales.
