[2019-02-02]Amazon Might Have to Issue a Cryptocurrency Soon

[gentlemand]

If Amazon will launch a coin it will probably be a stable coin pegged to the USD so I doubt it will be heavily traded on exchanges, and if it will be listed it will ruin a lot of the current stable coins, plus it will destroy the dreams of many tokens that were focused on being accepted as payments on a large scale.

Interesting that this - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Coin is never, ever mentioned in this context. Amazon coins have been around for a quite a while now but you never hear anything about them. They're transferable between accounts but have limited uses.

[o_e_l_e_o]

BitPay alone did +$1 billion in conversions last year, where it's safe to say that the far majority of this is related to Bitcoin.

True, but you are assuming that this was all from new customers. In the case of Amazon, who already have such a huge grip on the market, I'm not convinced they would gain that many new customers from supporting bitcoin. Sure, they would gain some customers, but I reckon most people who would utilise bitcoin payment on Amazon are already shopping there with fiat.

People who want a decentralized or private marketplace won't be looking to Amazon, regardless of payment method.

[1Referee]

Sure, they would gain some customers, but I reckon most people who would utilise bitcoin payment on Amazon are already shopping there with fiat.

It depends on where you are I guess, but for me spending Bitcoin offers a convenient way to avoid taxation in a legal manner (i.e. spending Bitcoin is not a taxable event), and what's better than buying goods from one of the main ecommerce sites? I'm certain that there are enough people out there willing to spend their coins like this instead of donating 20-30% of it to the government by cashing it out to fiat.

People who want a decentralized or private marketplace won't be looking to Amazon, regardless of payment method.

These people are part of a minority that has no economical mass, and probably never will have. On top of that, they have decentralized markets to utilize already.

[Harlot]

Easier said than done, from what I know if they do that they themselves would be competing their own payment system. Right now their Amazon Pay is acting like their own Paypal within the website, issuing their own cryptocurrency would only divide the interested parties who are using their credit/debit cards using Amazon Pay. Also Zhao didn't mention any problems Amazon is having with their current payment methods nor did I see any rumors supporting it so them issuing cryptocurrency is still far from reality.

[suzanne5223]

If Amazon will launch a coin it will probably be a stable coin pegged to the USD so I doubt it will be heavily traded on exchanges, and if it will be listed it will ruin a lot of the current stable coins, plus it will destroy the dreams of many tokens that were focused on being accepted as payments on a large scale.

Interesting that this - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Coin is never, ever mentioned in this context. Amazon coins have been around for a quite a while now but you never hear anything about them. They're transferable between accounts but have limited uses.

Wait there's something I dont really get about your post because I checked the amazon coin link and the page was update last year and binance CEO statement was that amazon have to issue it own cryptocurrency soon.
Are you saying amazon already have it own coin? If yes, have you use it before?
Just need to be assure.

[gentlemand]

Wait there's something I dont really get about your post because I checked the amazon coin link and the page was update last year and binance CEO statement was that amazon have to issue it own cryptocurrency soon.
Are you saying amazon already have it own coin? If yes, have you use it before?
Just need to be assure.

It's basically a gift card. You can only spend it on a few things, and not real products on Amazon. It's mainly apps for the Fire and Kindle stuff.

There will never be a reason for them to create anything more than that.

[leonair]

Up to this day there are still majority of that people doesn't know about cryptocurrency and how it works they only knew what is the negative side of it and on the other hand the banks are still there and maybe doing their thing to spread false news to cryptocurrency as it is a threat to them.

If Amazon started to accept cryptocurrency as a payment then I assume that the other e-commerce businesses will do the same, and that's the time we all wanted to happen.

[squatter]

It's marketing. People here seem to be so tied to their this or that doesn't work way of thinking.

Bitcoin as an additional payment option doesn't cost anything if it isn't being used, but will very likely result in a wave of customers they otherwise wouldn't have.

Implementing Bitcoin support absolutely has costs.

They need to dedicate developer and server resources on an ongoing basis. They need to develop and maintain a robust wallet and custody solution, as well as a robust solution for currency conversion. They also need to account for custody risks. Or if they hire a processor like Bitpay, that's a 1% cost right there, which is only a tiny bit better than Visa. I also assume processors like Visa give giants like Amazon favorable fee arrangements as well, so Bitpay may in fact be worse.

I also strongly disagree that it'll "very likely result in a wave of customers they otherwise wouldn't have." What businesses implemented Bitcoin support and then saw massive growth? I remember several cases where businesses added Bitcoin then later dropped it because there was no interest. Adding Bitcoin as a payment option has never driven consumers to Bitcoin.

Besides, Amazon doesn't need to achieve growth that way. They are basically taking over the world by expanding their core logistics model and consolidating neighboring industries. As long as they offer all the major payment options consumers want, this is an afterthought to them at best.

BitPay alone did +$1 billion in conversions last year, where it's safe to say that the far majority of this is related to Bitcoin.

Give people the merchants they frequently shop at, and this $1 billion will become +$2 billion, and more as time goes by.

I'm pretty sure that Bitcoin holders intent on buying stuff on Amazon already buy gift cards with bitcoins -- Bitrefill, Bitpay, other gift card malls. If they use it directly on Amazon instead (or on Amazon through Bitpay), I just don't see it making a big difference.

[stompix]

~

Interesting that this - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Coin is never, ever mentioned in this context. Amazon coins have been around for a quite a while now but you never hear anything about them. They're transferable between accounts but have limited uses.

Forgot about it, I saw it once when I was checking some e-books but never bother reading into what you do with those credits

It's basically a gift card. You can only spend it on a few things, and not real products on Amazon. It's mainly apps for the Fire and Kindle stuff.

There will never be a reason for them to create anything more than that.

So they could simply transform those gifts into a somewhat close resemblance of crypto.
Not that it would matter if it's not decentralized, not minable, not irreversible, not anonymous, not, not, not...
I'm willing to bet that if they do offer it and create some kind of wallets app in which to store it and use them to buy on amazon they would easily sell a few billion worth and have at least a few millions installs in the first week.

Probably the best way to finance a company without issuing shares.

Starbucks is sitting on billions in form of unspent gift cards.