Governments and businesses worldwide are quickly adopting digital currency, propelling its market. Amazon is among the many businesses embracing blockchain.
Amazon recently announced its partnership with Avalanche, a high-performance blockchain solution. This could give Amazon a significant edge towards becoming a reliable blockchain ecosystem.
What is Amazon Coin?
As governments and major companies join the digital currency bandwagon, Amazon is following suit by joining as well. Their native token, Amazon Coin, will enable this.
Amazon Coin is a digital currency used for purchasing games and apps from the Amazon App Store. Each coin holds equal value of one US cent; you can either purchase them using money on an Amazon account, or earn them through gameplay.
There have been reports of Amazon entering cryptos, though these have yet to materialize. Malicious advertisements which lead people to sites selling the nonexistent Amazon Token cryptocurrency have also been seen; these often feature attractively designed websites with detailed explanations, possibly misleading people into thinking these sites are safe; but any spelling mistakes should serve as a red flag that these are untrustworthy sites and should be avoided at all costs.
Will Amazon Launch a Stablecoin?
Internet has recently become infested with malicious websites promoting Amazon’s new “Token cryptocurrency”. These malicious websites feature convincing designs and link their purchase with Prime membership.
Last week it was reported that Amazon was recruiting a Digital Currency and Blockchain Product Lead – possibly signalling their plan to launch their own stablecoin and significantly increasing crypto’s adoption. If true, this move by Amazon would represent an extraordinary move toward driving crypto adoption forward.
If Amazon launches a stablecoin, it would likely become part of their payment platform and allow customers to use Amazon Coins which can easily be converted to US dollars for making payments.
Amazon is well known for experimenting with blockchain technology, offering fully managed blockchain service Amazon QLDB as well as entering partnerships with leading blockchain firms like R3, Consensys, and IDEO CoLab. Amazon seems likely to become the first major tech company to issue its own stablecoin.
What Lies Ahead for Amazon and Crypto?
Crypto markets saw a dramatic surge Sunday evening on speculation that Amazon is planning to accept crypto payments and launch their own native token. This was fuelled by job listings for “digital currency and blockchain product lead” on their payments acceptance team.
Job listings indicate that the successful candidate will be responsible for creating a vision and strategy for digital currencies as well as “obtaining leadership buy-in and investments for new capabilities.”
Note, though, that Amazon’s exploration of cryptocurrency doesn’t guarantee they’ll start accepting CBDCs or creating their own crypto token. Such an action could have devastating repercussions for the entire crypto market.
As an industry disruptor, Amazon stands to become one of the first mainstream companies to embrace blockchain technology and introduce crypto assets into its financial infrastructure. But in order to avoid further contributing to bear markets, any decisions must be carefully and thoughtfully made so as not to add further burden on existing markets.
Conclusions
Amazon’s foray into cryptocurrency could bring both advantages and drawbacks for both itself and the wider cryptocurrency industry. Integrating crypto payments onto its platform may increase popularity while inspiring more companies to offer crypto as payment solutions.
Launching a stablecoin could offer investors an excellent investment opportunity, while cryptocurrency transactions offer greater privacy as they don’t rely on traditional banking systems for transactions.
Buying Amazon Coin? Make sure that if you plan to store it safely by choosing a digital wallet that supports two-factor authentication and encryption features. By adhering to these tips, your Amazon Coin will remain safe for transactions or investment use; and diversifying your portfolio in order to reduce risks. Good luck!
