E-commerce giant Amazon buys domain names containing terms such as “cryptocurrency” and “Ethereum”.
Following Bitcoin’s record-breaking surge to $6,900 after CME announced a plan to launch Bitcoin futures, tech giant Amazon has purchased cryptocurrency-related web domains, giving rise to speculation about a possible entry into the cryptocurrency arena.
As reported by trade publication DomainNameWire, Amazon Technologies, Inc. (a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc.) secured three domain names on October 31 – “amazoncryptocurrencies.com”, “amazoncryptocurrency.com” and “amazonethereum.com”. So far, none of the sites are reachable.
The move comes a week after Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin commented on prominent tech companies’ silence on blockchain and cryptocurrencies, stating “we’ve not seen that much” from Amazon in terms of blockchain readiness.
While the registrations seem to suggest a possible move into the cryptospace, there is no official word from Amazon on the matter. Last month, while talking to CNBC, Amazon Pay VP Patrick Gauthier clarified that Amazon had no plans to start accepting cryptocurrency payments, owing to lack of demand.
In addition, in September this year, a rumor regarding Amazon’s acceptance of cryptocurrencies (which later turned out to be false) sent Bitcoin’s price surging.
As per DomainNameWire, the registrations might simply be nothing more than a defensive brand protection maneuver on Amazon’s part, to prevent unaffiliated parties from creating websites in Amazon’s name. Previously, the company purchased the domain name “amazonbitcoin.com” in 2013, which simply redirects visitors to “amazon.com”.
It is also pertinent to note that Amazon currently offers customers the option of paying with Amazon Coin – a virtual currency product which was launched in 2013.