Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Amazon Launches Virtual Currency, Amazon Coins

Amazon.com is getting into the virtual currency business, the company said today, and has launched Amazon Coins, a new virtual currency for purchasing applications, games, and for in-app purchases. According to Amazon, the new virtual currency will debut in May, and is aimed at developers of apps for the Kindle Fire. Amazon said the new, virtual currency is aimed at helping app developers drive traffic, downloads, and increase monetization, and will come alongside a big promotional effort which will give "tens of millions of dollars" of free Amazon Coins to customers. Amazon explained that the new virtual currency will give Amazon Appstore developers their standard, 70 percent revenue share. Customers will be able to purchase and buy additional Amazon Coins using their Amazon.com account.