- Amazon is all set to launch its NFT marketplace on April 24.
- The service would start with customers in the US before rolling out to customers in other countries.
Amazon is all set to announce its presence in the NFT industry with its much-anticipated market, “Amazon Digital Marketplace” expected to be launched on April 24. According to reports, 15 NFT collections would be available from the launch date and would begin with US customers before rolling it out to customers in other countries. The supposed 15 NFT collections would also be available on the Amazon website and can be purchased with an Amazon account or credit card. Users can access it by clicking on the “Amazon Digital Marketplace” tab.
https://twitter.com/CryptoHawkeye1/status/1632958811240644612?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
It is reported that NFT services via the Amazon platform will enable users who have no access to crypto wallets to purchase NFTs. This comes as good news as the company has already been planning to launch the NFT services since last year. Unfortunately, the collapse of the FTX empire delayed the whole process.
A source speaks on the NFT initiative
In January, a source familiar with the matter disclosed that the company could launch its digital assets enterprise and its NFT initiative in the spring of 2023. While this is being worked on, the company is getting its customers to play crypto games and claim free NFTs.
The source spoke to Blockworks:
Amazon “coming into the space” is “a big one” for crypto for many different reasons.
We knew it was possible. But now it seems like it’s happening. That’s going to affect the existing players in the space — if they execute and do this right and are smart about it.
The source also hinted that the company was planning to conduct an NFT drop with an artist. Interestingly, it was disclosed that the NFT initiative would not be run on the Web-hosting platform – Amazon Web Services (AWS). Once the marketplace hit the ground running, popular NFT platforms like OpenSea and Rarible would have tough competition to deal with since Amazon already has a huge number of customers.
Amazon has always hinted about its crypto future
Last year, Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon, hinted that the company would not close its doors on the possibility of getting into crypto in the future.
I expect that NFTs will continue to grow very significantly. We’re not probably close to adding crypto as a payment mechanism in our retail business. But I do believe over time you’ll see crypto become bigger and it’s possible.
Amazon Web Services made a huge step in its plan to accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology by announcing a partnership with Ava Labs. Its decision to launch an NFT marketplace put it in the same category as Meta and Google which made a bold step into the Web3 ecosystem.
John Wu, the president of Ava Labs commented:
We would love to provide a better experience for the more than 500 applications currently on the chain, and we now have a real partnership that we can direct toward the Activate program.
The company has partnered with Chainlink (Link), and public blockchain VeChainThor for the node creation solution and the blockchain-based carbon management services respectively.