Amazon is launching a new marketplace for Amazon Crypto Coin. The company announced that the Amazon Marketplace doesn’t want to miss out on the action of digital currency and will offer a platform for other companies to sell their goods in exchange for Bitcoin, Ether, and other digital tokens.

What does this mean? In short, Amazon wants to serve as a one-stop shop for all things crypto coins. Along with its own virtual currency, Amazon Coins, it also offers apps and programs that support the purchase of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies using its site. While some people are skeptical because of Amazon’s reputation for not being an early adopter of technology.

 

What is Amazon’s Crypto Coin Marketplace

For those who are unfamiliar with Amazon Crypto Coin, Amazon is partnering with Xapo, a Bitcoin wallet and trading platform with a wide selection of crypto coins to offer to customers.

This is not Amazon’s first venture into cryptocurrency. It has already integrated several virtual coin apps such as Coinbase and made the option to purchase Bitcoin and Ethereum on Amazon.com available for some U.S. customers. It is now expanding this area to the Marketplace, where it hopes to reach a larger audience. The Marketplace is open to anyone, not just Amazon employees, and people can sell goods and services.

The idea is that cryptocurrency will become a more common form of payment as its use becomes more prevalent. Amazon isn’t the only one eyeing this opportunity, of course.

 

Why are people skeptical about Amazon’s New Marketplace?

The biggest roadblock is that Amazon has been slow to embrace any new tech that doesn’t fit its core identity. The tech titan, for example, is nowhere to be found on Apple’s iOS App Store or Google’s Play Store, even though Apple and Google both serve their user bases from a similar market.

So what could go wrong? Amazon does have a long history of being a slow, if not terrible, service provider. Amazon has long been a user-unfriendly platform, and though it does not have the worst customer service problems of all time, it still has its own loyal user base that is just as fickle as all the other tech giants. Perhaps the most disappointing part of Amazon is how slow it is to change.

 

Where does this leave other retailers who are not on Amazon?

In response to the announcement, Amazon’s platform has been flooded with ICOs in the past 24 hours. Some, like Global Crypto Offering Exchange, are looking to take advantage of this opportunity by becoming the first retailer to accept digital tokens on Amazon’s marketplace.

Ultimately, the more platforms are offering digital currency products for purchase, the more competition Amazon will have on its hands. It’s the same way retailers like Microsoft and Wal-Mart can offer competing for virtual currencies.

But where do cryptocurrency startups come into play?

There are also other virtual currency startups that might like to sell their goods and services on Amazon’s platform.

 

Where does this lead us?

Initially, Amazon is only taking customers to websites that offer the Amazon Coin, but it’s easy to see where this could eventually lead. Currently, Amazon operates more than 250 million merchant accounts, so this new addition could very well be a portal to reach even more customers who are interested in digital currencies.

Amazon Coins are meant to make it easier for consumers to make cryptocurrency purchases, whether it’s an app or a hardware device. It’s easy to understand that Amazon wants to attract consumers by making it easier for them to buy and use new technologies and to do so, it has provided some benefits to those willing to try Amazon Crypto Coin.

 

Conclusion

Some people think Amazon could stand to benefit from all the growth of digital currencies. Not only does Amazon have the population, reach, and infrastructure to take on large competitors like eBay, but it also has an enormous user base and the potential to offer unique services.

Whether it is the prospect of expanding into an international market, offering a cryptocurrency exchange, or offering the experience of being able to purchase, hold and sell cryptocurrencies, Amazon appears to be hitting the ground running. Here’s what I think.

First of all, AmAmazon Crypto Coin, while only offered in the US, could be very important for the cryptocurrency space.