Amazon has recently taken to using their brand to coerce people into giving over their Bitcoin, creating an increasing issue within the cryptocurrency industry as more and more people become interested.
News reports indicated that Amazon would hire a digital currency and blockchain product lead, though no plans have been announced by them to accept crypto as payment.
What is Amazon crypto?
There have been reports that Amazon may enter the cryptocurrency market and could launch their own crypto token, according to job ads that listed an opening for a “Head of Digital Currency and Blockchain”.
Amazon recently purchased multiple domains related to Bitcoin and Ethereum; however, there are currently no plans to incorporate cryptocurrency into their products.
Amazon Coins, its virtual currency, can only be used to buy apps and games in the Amazon App Store and cannot be used anywhere outside of it. There’s also no speculation on their value and each coin only costs $0.01. Designed as rewards tools for customers, the coins may even soon be used as part of drone deliveries via an experiment currently in beta phase.
What is the future of Amazon crypto?
Amazon has never officially explained why it does not accept Bitcoin, yet given their longstanding preference for creating solutions in-house it seems likely that should they adopt blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, they would likely create their own token or stablecoin that could protect from market fluctuations while taking advantage of payments flowing through their ecosystem.
Amazon recently expanded their Web3 offerings, which include crypto wallets and non-fungible token (NFT)-based consumer engagement campaigns, prompting speculation of an impending digital currency launch from them. Now rumors about Amazon laying the foundation for their own currency are flying around again, and this jobs listing follows suit with speculation of this move by many experts.
Amazon now accepts NFTs that will power games for its Alexa virtual assistant; it remains unknown if or when Amazon will offer its own gaming platform; in the meantime, customers may use popular applications like BitPay to exchange cryptocurrency for Amazon gift cards.
Is Amazon crypto a scam?
As cryptocurrency and token interest continues to skyrocket, scammers are finding new ways to take advantage of people’s excitement about them. One such scheme uses Amazon as bait; scammers create a website which appears authentic but actually contains incentives like bonuses or sales which lure potential victims in. Furthermore, this fake site includes timed countdown lures in order to pressure people into making quick decisions quickly.
Akamai Research estimates that this scheme has likely yielded deposits totalling over $14 billion to criminals.
Fraudsters are taking advantage of Amazon’s well-recognized brand and popular Prime service to perpetrate fraudulent schemes. According to Ahrefs data, searches for “Amazon token presale” are increasingly prevalent globally on Google; it’s essential that investors conduct due diligence before investing in any crypto project or token presale.
Is Amazon crypto a good investment?
With cryptocurrency’s promise comes great responsibility: Do your research before investing, remember there may be scams out there, and be wary.
Recently, an Amazon crypto was conducting fraudulent pre-sale token sales. Their website made every attempt at legitimization; including email verification and captcha testing before offering pre-sale tokens for sale. Avast noticed this scam and wrote about it in their blog post.
Amazon has indicated an interest in cryptocurrency and NFTs, yet has yet to launch or announce their own token or indicate when this might happen. While it is possible that Amazon could launch digital currency at some point in the future, given the current state of cryptocurrency markets it seems unlikely that any significant crypto products would emerge anytime soon despite purchasing various domain names for brand protection rather than for future product release.
