In a move expected to benefit the mobile development industry, Amazon has officially launched its virtual currency, called Amazon Coins. To kick off the program, the company gave every Kindle Fire owner 500 coins to spend (a $5 value).
People who use Amazon’s tablets will be able to use the coins for apps or in-app purchases. As with purchases using ordinary money, developers will receive a 70 percent cut of revenue.
“We will continue to add more ways to earn and spend Coins on a wider range of content and activities,” said Amazon’s Mike George. “Today is Day One for Coins.”