Amazon’s Entry into the NFT Market and the revolutions of collectibles are remarkable steps in the direction of the adoption of digital assets, with other mainstream companies such as GameStop and Reddit. Amazon’s NFT marketplace signals a new era of digital collectibles. It examines the potential of Amazon’s NFT marketplace to attract a wider audience to NFTs. According to Blockworks, the Amazon NFT marketplace will allow customers to buy NFTs tied to real-world assets and will offer 15 NFT collections initially. Customers won’t need crypto wallets to buy NFTs on Amazon.
The entry of Amazon into the NFT market is significant for two main reasons, according to Christopher Alexander, the chief communications officer for Liberty Blockchain. Firstly, Amazon is a well-known and trusted brand with over 200 million customers, including Prime members. Therefore, it can act as a trusted intermediary for customers experiencing Web3 technology for the first time. Secondly, Amazon’s involvement brings significant lobbying power to the crypto industry, which is currently fighting on multiple fronts on Capitol Hill.
The NFT space has experienced some setbacks, particularly since the collapse of TerraUSD/Luna in May 2022, but it appears to be rebounding. In February, NFT trading volume spiked to $2 billion, up 117% from the previous month, according to DappRadar’s industry report. Although trading volume on NFT marketplaces has decreased compared to the bull run days, experts agree that there is still room for competition in a relatively nascent space.
It is unclear whether Amazon’s NFT marketplace will compete with existing marketplaces such as OpenSea. However, experts believe that there is room for coexistence between marketplaces, particularly with Amazon’s distribution power. Mo Shaikh, the co-founder, and CEO of Aptos Labs believes that Amazon’s distribution network could give the company an advantage over other marketplaces and infrastructure, as it could enable real utility in the NFT market.
Ultimately, Amazon’s entry into the NFT market is a sign of continued momentum for non-crypto technology firms to experiment with NFTs and crypto more broadly. Such experimentation will help familiarize large customer bases with Web3 technology. Although it will take time for more companies and brands to incorporate digital assets into their existing technology stack, Amazon’s entry into the market is an exciting development that showcases a Web2 giant dipping its toes into the crypto world.
