There are always interesting developments in the world of cryptocurrency. Amazon has been doing some remarkable things in this area, even though its motives remain unclear for the time being. Most recently, the company has purchased three cryptocurrency-related domain names. It is unclear what it plans to do with them, as the company isn’t planning to accept cryptocurrency payments anytime soon.
Amazon Buys Cryptocurrency Domains
There are many potential reasons as to why Amazon would register three domain names which are related to cryptocurrency. According to CNBC, the company bought AmazonEthereum, AmazonCryptocurrency, and AmazonCryptocurrrencies last month. It’s a rather interesting development, especially considering the e-commerce giant affirmed it would not accept cryptocurrency payments now or in the future. Unless real demand were to kick in, that situation will not change whatsoever.
Even the most recent petition to enable Litecoin payments on Amazon has fallen on deaf ears. While there have been rumors that Amazon would soon enable Bitcoin payments, those claims are 100% fake for the time being. That doesn’t mean this situation can’t change over time, but there are currently no plans to make any changes in this regard. That’s an understandable decision, even though having Amazon on board would be quite spectacular for cryptocurrency as a whole. It would certainly alleviate some of the “speculative investment vehicle” concerns associated with Bitcoin.
For the time being, no one knows for sure what Amazon will use these three domains for. One possibility could involve the company providing a brokerage service for cryptocurrencies without enabling payments on its shopping platform. The choice to do so with Ethereum is quite peculiar, to say the very least, although it is hard to gauge its potential impact. Another option would be Amazon creating its own centralized digital currency going by the name of AmazonEthereum. Again, this is mere speculation more than anything else, but the possibility is certainly real.
Whether or not Amazon will ever use these domains for anything other than redirection purposes remains to be seen. It is a smart move to buy up these domains regardless, as other entities might be tempted to do the same. Considering that Amazon has been (wrongfully) associated with cryptocurrencies over the past few months, it would make for an interesting marketing stunt if someone else bought up these domains. Then again, Amazon also owns AmazonBitcoin.com which simply redirects to the main Amazon shopping page.
No one can deny these developments are very interesting to keep an eye on. While the future of Amazon and cryptocurrency remains shrouded in mystery for the time being, it is doubtful this is the last we will hear in this regard. Until Amazon decides to accept cryptocurrencies directly, using a cryptocurrency debit card remains a popular option for consumers. It is not the “pure” solution most people want to see, but it is certainly worth exploring.
Rest assured this new development will get a lot of mainstream media attention over the next few weeks. The decision to register these domain names comes at a time during which the Bitcoin price is smashing every previous record on a regular basis. It is impossible to predict where this market will head next, but the year 2017 has been rather spectacular for many different reasons. Amazon clearly has some sort of plan for its new domain names, but no one outside the company knows for sure when and how they will be used in the future.
