E-commerce Giant Amazon is Reportedly Launching an NFT Initiative this Spring

Amazon, the world’s largest retailer, is reportedly launching a digital assets enterprise, with an NFT (non-fungible token) initiative expected to be announced in the spring.

According to sources familiar with the matter, Amazon has been shopping the digital collectibles effort to a number of power players in the industry, including layer-1 blockchains, blockchain-based gaming startups and developers, and digital asset exchanges. The focus is said to be on blockchain-based gaming and related NFT applications.

One example that is reportedly in the works is getting Amazon customers to play crypto games and claim free NFTs in the process. The effort is still in the development stage, but April is said to be the likely date for Amazon to reveal its plans to the public.

While Amazon Web Services has posted occasional roles for developers and engineers in the Web3 realm, the e-commerce giant is not well known for exploring the crypto or blockchain arenas. However, CEO Andy Jassy has previously stated that he is open to selling NFTs and that the company is not closing the door to cryptocurrencies generally.

It is not yet clear what Amazon’s specific goals are for its NFT initiative or how it plans to compete with existing NFT marketplaces like OpenSea and Rarible. However, with its large customer base, Amazon has the potential to make a significant impact on the NFT marketplace.

Do you think Amazon has a chance at web3 giants like Opensea? Let us know in the comments below. 👇🏽