Amazon Could Launch NFT Initiative Linked to Its E-Commerce Website Around April: Report

Amazon could be gearing up to foray into the digital assets industry in 2023. The e-commerce giant is reportedly set to launch an NFT initiative this April that would be closely integrated with its mother platform. NFTs, or Non-Fungible Tokens, are digital collectibles, that are built on blockchains that transfer their complete ownerships to the buyers. Business experts from around the world have time and again predicted that NFTs, that are also compatible in the metaverse, could be the next advancement that global brands could take up to engage with the Web3 native customers.

Amazon's plans to dabble in the Web3 space could have the platform encourage its customers to play games and earn NFTs as rewards, a Blockworks report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

For the longest time, Amazon has maintained a distance from the crypto sector owing to its volatile nature and legitimacy issues. In 2022 however, the adoption of NFTs grew in several parts of the world.

Several high-end and globally renowned brands linked their products to NFTs to rope in Web3 enthusiasts.

A total of $260 million (roughly Rs. 2,074 crore) has collectively been bagged by high-end luxury brands including Nike, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana with the sales of their NFT pieces, a report by NFTgators said in August last year.

Amazon, being a seller of thousands of local and international brands, could now be seeing NFTs as a way to multiply its own revenue. If Amazon does enter the NFT arena, it could singlehandedly drive a mass engagement of people with digital assets.

“We knew it was possible. But now it seems like it's really 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 Blockworks report quoted its anonymous sources as saying.

For now, Amazon's official announcement around its NFT-related plans remain awaited.