On the 6th of February, 2023, Michael Bodley tweeted that Amazon has plans to roll out a massive NFT platform for US users.
SCOOP: Amazon, according to multiple sources, is planning to notify every US Prime customer about its massive NFT platform that's developing fast. https://t.co/P2CduXwSqT
— Michael Bodley (@michael_bodley) March 6, 2023
Amazon, the World’s largest retailer, is noted to have been hovering at the edges of Web3 tech for some time. Michael Bodley, the senior editor at Blockworks, shared a tweet, stating that multiple sources say that Amazon is building a massive NFT platform, which it would notify its US prime users about in the near future. It’s scheduled to launch on the 24th of April.
The move is significant for the NFT space and the crypto industry due to the size of Amazon. As the largest retail platform, this upgrade would also be available in Amazon’s digital marketplace.
Amazon is said to have been exploring the digital collectibles market, including layer 1 blockchains, blockchain-based gaming startups, relevant developers, and digital asset exchanges. Amazon is reportedly focusing on blockchain-based gaming and NFT applications, as it has been hiring or partnering with Web3-oriented developers. One example of this is getting Amazon customers to play crypto games and claim free NFTs.
Also, Amazon is laying the groundwork to give its customers the ability to purchase NFTs tied to real-world assets that are delivered to their doorstep, which is a significant upgrade. When the upgrade is implemented, Amazon shoppers can purchase a fashion-oriented NFT tied to a pair of jeans and pay with a credit card, just as they would with any other Amazon purchase.
This would be the largest ‘utility’ play in NFT space to date, and Amazon is even looking toward creating some type of private blockchain.
Despite the enthusiasm from Amazon, many are not too excited about this development, saying that the new policy lacks originality. Thus building a private Blockchain is completely pointless as the NFT concept has no ownership. With the centralized design, there is no difference between the new NFT rollout and Amazon’s internal database, which currently records all trades.
Others believe such an upgrade might onboard some users into the NFT space, but it does nothing to educate them on crucial web3 concepts like self-custody, security, crypto keys, and smart contracts. This could leave them vulnerable to bad actors in the space. It was even suggested that they include an Ethereum layer 2 blockchains to fortify security.
With the collapse of centralized establishments, little is known of how users would react to this development.
