Everyone else is releasing NFTs… so why isn’t Amazon getting in on the action? After all, it’s one of the biggest companies on the planet. It certainly has the money to engage in a little bit of experimentation with the Metaverse.
Recently, Amazon’s CEO Andy Jassy seemed to address this question and hinted that the tech giant may one day release its own set of NFTs. However, these weren’t exactly promises, and Jassy seemed less convinced than many other business leaders about the potential for non-fungible tokens.
So is he right? Or is Amazon missing out on a big opportunity?
What Does Andy Jassy Think About NFTs and Crypto?
In an interview with CNBC, Andy Jassy revealed what he really thinks about cryptocurrencies and NFTs. Although Jassy certainly isn’t as well-known as Amazon’s current executive chairman, Jeff Bezos, he’s still an incredibly influential (and wealthy) figure.
A Harvard graduate, Jassy joined Amazon in 1997 and helped pioneer Amazon Web Services in 2003. He also won the Financial Times’ “Person of the Year” award in 2015, and succeeded Bezos as CEO in 2021. At this time, he started receiving a pay package of almost $213 million per year.
In other words, Andy Jassy isn’t just some random person Bezos chose to be the next Amazon CEO – he’s an experienced, educated, and very wealthy business leader. Now, you might think that someone like him would be all over NFTs and crypto – especially since he helped develop AWS. But in the aforementioned CNBC interview, Jassy revealed that he doesn’t own any cryptocurrencies whatsoever. However, he did say that Amazon may start modernizing its suite of products with crypto-friendly services, explaining:
“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.”
He also went on to say that Amazon could become a platform that sells NFTs at some point in the future, stating:
“You know, I expect that NFTs will continue to grow very significantly.” When asked about the possibility of Amazon selling NFTs, he stated: “I think it’s possible down the road on the platform.”
Key Takeaways
So what does this all mean?
First of all, it’s important not to read too much into Jassy’s words. He seems to be simply telling the interviewer what they want to hear; the same old line we’ve heard countless times before: “NFTs have great potential, etc.”
But Jassy is clearly not committing to anything concrete, and he is being extremely vague when he mentions the possibility of Amazon selling NFTs. Sure, the platform may one day sell these tokens, but this is far from an official announcement.
And what about the fact that the Amazon CEO doesn’t even own any Bitcoin? Does he know something we don’t? After all, the guy is raking in more than $200 million a year. Surely it makes sense to invest a few hundred thousand into crypto at the very least? Maybe he’s just overly cautious. Perhaps he chooses to invest only in other assets, such as real estate. Or maybe – just maybe – he knows that the bubble is about to burst.
