Amazon Denies It Has Plans To Accept Cryptocurrency, Reversing Bitcoin Price Surge To $40,000

Amazon has refuted claims that it plans to accept bitcoin, following rumours that saw bitcoin's price soar past $40,000 yesterday.

An insider told City AM that the e-commerce giant would accept bitcoin payments "by the end of the year", while the company was also creating its own cryptocurrency.

However, Amazon dismissed these reports in a statement to Reuters. A spokesperson told the site: "Notwithstanding our interest in the space, the speculation that has ensued around our specific plans for cryptocurrencies is not true."

Amazon Dismisses Bitcoin Rumours

On July 22, Amazon posted a job listing for a Digital Currency and Blockchain Product Lead. The company sought a leader to "develop Amazon’s Digital Currency and Blockchain strategy and product roadmap."

Following this development, an anonymous insider told City AM of Amazon's plans for cryptocurrency, stating: "This entire project is pretty much ready to roll."

According to the insider, cryptocurrency payments will become a "full-on, well-discussed, integral part of the future mechanism of how Amazon will work."

After bitcoin's implementation, Ethereum, Cardano, Bitcoin Cash and "eight of the most popular cryptocurrencies" would also be accepted.

However, Amazon has since denied it has plans to accept bitcoin in the near future.

Since this denial, bitcoin's price increase has reversed. The cryptocurrency dropped 2.5% in the last 24 hours, after a steady price increase over the past 7 days (via CoinMarketCap).

The insider also claimed Amazon was set to release its own digital currency in 2022 - adding to rumours sparked by a previous job listing earlier this year.

Bitcoin has faced several hurdles in attempts to be accepted as a payment method. Tesla, for example, no longer accepts bitcoin due to the environmental impact of bitcoin mining.

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