Amazon's NFT initiative could be the inflection point for Web3 🚀; Klarna just copied Spotify. And it’s brilliant 👏; Bitpanda goes B2B, or Bitpanda-as-a-Service 🐼

FinTech is Eating the World, 30 January

Hey Everyone,

Happy Monday! Today’s issue is perfectly tailored to start an awesome week. We’re going to look at Amazon's NFT initiative (& why it could be the inflection point for Web3), Klarna that just copied Spotify (& why it’s a brilliant move), and Bitpanda going into B2B, or Bitpanda-as-a-Service (& why it makes sense yet causes some serious concerns). Let’s jump straight into the cool stuff.

Amazon's NFT initiative could be the inflection point for Web3 🚀

The news🔥 E-commerce behemoth Amazon AMZN 0.00%↑ is making its first proper move into the crypto industry. Surprisingly, the retail giant isn’t targeting cryptocurrency per se - it has set its eyes on the Web3 space and is hence looking to launch its own gaming-focused NFT program in spring 2023.

This makes much more sense, and in fact, could be massive if done right. Let’s take a look.

More on this 👉 Blockworks first reported the development citing four sources familiar with the matter. According to them, the initiative is still in its early development stages, but the deadline for the launch is by April 2023.

What’s interesting here is that the Amazon executives who reportedly oversaw the initiatives were in contact with at least one family office. According to Blockworks, the initial plan was to create at least one NFT collection in collaboration with an artist, but plans evolved and they decided to launch a complete NFT program instead. 

Time has come ⏰ We must remember that last April, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy publicly stated that he saw NFTs in Amazon’s future:

I expect that NFTs will continue to grow very significantly. We’re not probably close to adding crypto as a payment mechanism in our retail business, but I do believe over time that you’ll see crypto become bigger and it’s possible… it’s possible down the road.

The time appears to be now.

What it means? 🤔 In short, the world’s largest retailer going into NFTs is definitely an inflection point for Web3, which may provide a solid boost of credibility and vitality to an ever-growing industry.

Here are 3 areas where NFTs could add the most value to Amazon + the takeaway (bonus is a read on Starbucks and how they are crushing it in Web3):