Rumors circulate: Amazon NFT marketplace to launch this month

Amazon is set to launch its NFT marketplace by May 15, according to Web3 enthusiast and non-fungible collector Moritz.

Amazon remains tight-lipped

The world’s largest online retailer has been tight-lipped on the matter, making no official announcements on the rumors.

Details of an Amazon NFT marketplace first surfaced from Blockworks back in January — stating the platform will focus on blockchain gaming and associated in-game NFT collectibles.

Since then, other outlets have added to the details, including Yahoo Finance (YF), which mentioned linking non-fungibles to physical products for delivery and having 15 collections to trade by the launch date.

YF also stated that Amazon accounts could serve as NFT wallets, thus bypassing the need for dedicated crypto wallets like MetaMask. If true, this move signals a focus on newbie collectors rather than those already familiar with NFTs and cryptocurrency.

CryptoSlate reached out to Amazon for further comment. At the time of press, no response was received.

Other rumors

Moritz conceded that a lack of official details is circulating — meaning “nothing is 100% confirmed yet.” However, he collated information to compile a comprehensive thread on what to expect.

He stated that NFTs could be paid for using standard payment methods, similar to any other Amazon purchase. Likewise, as mentioned above, the NFTs are storable in the user’s Amazon account.

“You won’t need any technical know-how about the blockchain or self-custody wallets, just an Amazon account.“

He also claimed Amazon would launch its own private blockchain that is interoperable with Ethereum, Avalanche, and Chainlink — with plans to integrate more blockchains in the future.

The platform will launch in the U.S., to begin with, and be called “Amazon Digital Marketplace.” However, an eventual global rollout is expected.

Comparing Coinbase’s 9 million monthly active users to Amazon’s significantly larger 197 million, Moritz deduced that Amazon has a greater potential for success with NFTs versus Coinbase — especially as Amazon is gearing toward an untapped client base.

“Amazon doesn’t only has [sic] far more users, but they also have a completely different audience.

And they come with a solution that makes the user experience far better (most people don’t want self-custody).“

Despite Moritz’s prediction of a slow start for the Amazon Digital Marketplace, he still considered the venture a significant milestone for the cryptocurrency industry — calling it “a huge step for our space.”

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