Amazon flirting with cryptos, but no date in sight

Whenever the name of the mega-corporation, Amazon, appears together with cryptocurrency or blockchain in the headlines, you can be sure a buzz will arise. Truth and facts become intertwined and the market pumps for no apparent reason.

So what are the facts, and what are Amazon’s relations with cryptocurrency?

Domain name claim

In November 2017, news came out that Amazon had purchased three new domain names: amazonethereum.com, amazoncryptocurrency.com and amazoncryptocurrencies.com.

Some saw this as exciting news of imminent developments, speculating that an Amazon-owned cryptoexchange is on its way. Because if Amazon was simply going to start accepting crypto as payment for commerce, registering a domain would be over-the-top.

Investor Maj Souejdan writes:

“When I took one look at these domain names, that is how they read to me. What would be the point of going out in registering a domain name like these if you were simply going to use one of the digital currencies on the website as a method of payment? A domain name is a placeholder for a bigger project than that and, the thought of Amazon exchanges was literally the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw the domain names. I literally said out loud ‘they’re going to set up exchanges’.”

However, this seems to simply be an act of defensive domain name registration. This is what big corporations do. Google had even bought the alphabet in 2015 with the domain abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz.com. Amazon has also purchased one of the oldest websites, vine.com, which is the 71st domain to ever be registered, dating back to 1987.

Domain Name Wire, which was the first to report the news, commented:

“The domain name registrations might suggest that Amazon is getting ready to do something on the Ethereum blockchain or release its own cryptocurrency. However, I caution that Amazon is overzealous when it comes to defensive domain name registrations. I believe that some of the registrations are done at arms-length by a brand protection agency.”

Meanwhile, Amazon has owned the domain amazonbitcoin.com since 2013, and amazonlitecoin.com since 2017. Thus, the purchasing of other domains by the company does not necessarily imply any consequent action. It is essentially a company protecting their brand. The rest is fiction, although inspired by the truth.

Amazon is not showing any public interest in blockchain

Amazon publicly announced that they had no plans to accept cryptocurrency yet since there has not been much demand. Regardless of whether Amazon really is or isn’t looking into crypto, this statement indicates that for the time being we should not expect anything of this sort to pop up.

Furthermore, Smartereum reports that Amazon Web Services (AWS) CEO Andy Jassy deliberately left the discussion of blockchain out of their re:Invent conference last month:

“The company does not want to focus on a technology which is surrounded by so much hype. While many of the other companies are jumping the blockchain bandwagon but Amazon Web Services is planning to stay away from the blockchain technology for the time being.”

“According to the CEO, the current issues which are being solved or attempted to being solved with the help of blockchain can be solved with the help of other available technologies as well. That is why using blockchain is not a necessity.”

Ripple collaboration rumours

Mainstream crypto news agencies have recently been reporting a potential collaboration between Ripple and Amazon. Substantial evidence supporting this claim is hard to find.

Bitcoin Exchange Guide argues that it is fishy that “Ripple executives keep mentioning Amazon when they give their presentations about global financial payments.” Apparently Cory Johnson, a Ripple executive, mentioned Amazon saying that “it is hard for companies such as this one to pay customers in an easy and seamless way.”

Other articles contain no news whatsoever, but simply state that if Amazon would decide to use a cryptocurrency, it would probably be XRP. For example, “Amazon & Ripple (XRP) Linked Together in Accepting Payments Rumors” has no facts supporting this rumour, or indicating its source.

There has been no official statement from either of the companies about such a collaboration.

The combination of the words Amazon and Ripple together resulted in a “bullish breakout” in the market, especially for Ripple. Regardless of how much — or how little — content was in the articles with similar headlines, it had its effect.

Amazon Coin has been around for years

Before we get excited to anticipate Amazon Coin, it’s worth noting that something related has been around since 2013.

You can get the coins from your amazon profile, and then buy stuff with discount. But users can only make purchases with Amazon Coins on the Fire TV, Fire tables and Android devices using the official Amazon app.

No, it’s not a cryptocurrency. And it is not possible to cash Amazon Coins out or exchange them for anything. But they can be transferred onto a different Amazon account, like a gift-card.

For Amazon to develop its own cryptocurrency, there are still some obstacles in the way. The US government does not have a clear federal regulation policy about cryptocurrencies — these are dealt with separately per state. This makes it difficult for American companies to finalize such plans. Before we start thinking about any cryptocurrency coming out of Amazon, the regulatory issues would have to be determined.

Amazon is busy working with different technologies

It appears that Amazon is very busy working with the newest and most complex technologies. Just not blockchain, for the time being. The Amazon Go supermarkets are starting up around the United States, testing out a revolutionary and Orwellian take on the future of shopping. No humans involved - the customer just scans the app, grabs what they need from the shelves, and go.

Wired describes the technology being used:

“The cameras use computer vision — the process of allowing machines to “see” what is in front of them and determine what an object is — to detect when an item has been taken from a shelf by a customer and who has taken it. The system is also able to remove an item from a customer’s virtual basket if it is put back on the shelves. By using a network of cameras, Amazon is able to track people in the store at all times, ensuring it bills the right items to the right shopper when they walk out, without having to use facial recognition.”

“Underpinning the computer vision is deep learning. At their simplest, the systems are basically advanced pattern recognition and allow for machines to draw conclusions from vast datasets.”

In the end, what do we really know?

Not much, really.

There has been no explanation provided for Amazon’s actions, so what we see is all speculation and rumours. Price fluctuations are likely to be caused by crypto whales or Amazon stock holders creating hype so they can enjoy their gains. In reality, money is pumping based on very little substance.

Whether the cryptomarket is bearish or bullish, crypto in inevitably gaining power. I believe that corporations such as Amazon will eventually reach out for a piece of the cake in one way or another. Amazon has global finance wrapped around its virtual tentacles. It is hard to believe that giants like Amazon will stay indifferent towards the emerging crypto economy for much longer.

I’d say that we can expect that someday Amazon will play its cards in the crypto game. In what shape and form we will have to wait and see. In the meanwhile, headlines like the ones discussed here need to be swallowed with a grain of salt.

Image from Unsplash