Industry 2 min, 9 sec READ

by Mike Dalton

E-commerce and cloud giant Amazon is reportedly working on new blockchain initiatives. What will this involve?

Various cryptocurrency-related projects seem to still be underway at Amazon, according to reports that have been published over the past several weeks.

Insiders Say the Firm Is Working on NFTs

Four anonymous sources say that Amazon plans to launch a non-fungible token initiative this spring, based on recent reports from Blockworks.

Amazon is reportedly looking toward established blockchain companies that already play a role in the NFT space. This includes companies that have built layer-1 blockchains as well as blockchain gaming firms and digital asset exchanges.

Supposedly, Amazon wants users to play games so that it can distribute free NFTs to those players. Earlier plans suggested that Amazon would work with artists to create NFTs and airdrop those tokens to users, though plans have apparently changed significantly. Amazon plans to launch its NFT project in April, sources say.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy previously hinted at NFT support in mid-2022. It is unclear whether the latest news has evolved directly from those reports.

Amazon Posts Web3 Job Listing

Amazon is additionally looking to hire staff for its Web3 division, which includes blockchain services as well as other cloud services.

A February job posting indicates that the firm is seeking a Web3 Go-To-Market specialist. It mentions familiarity with blockchain several times in its requirements.

The posting asks applicants for “in-depth understanding of blockchain-based architectures” for Web3 and games. This seemingly lends support to Blockworks' insider reports, which discussed Amazon's interest in blockchain gaming.

The listing also makes a distinction between layer-1 and layer-2 blockchains. Though no specific projects are mentioned, that implies implying this Amazon may be interested in working with high-throughput networks as well as basic blockchains like Ethereum.

Avalanche’s Amazon Partnership

Last but not least, Amazon has recently partnered with Ava Labs, a company best known for its Avalanche blockchain and the associated cryptocurrency AVAX.

According to a post from Amazon, Avalanche is partnering with the company to host various events for entrepreneurs and developers.

Avalanche will also be available on Amazon’s AWS Marketplace. This is not entirely unique, as Amazon’s AWS division has provided access to enterprise Ethereum and other blockchains since it launched Amazon Managed Blockchain in 2019. Avalanche itself will also continue to use AWS for some features.

Amazon’s Avalanche partnership does not seem to be related to the NFT project mentioned above. Only the NFT project appears to be aimed at general consumers.