Reports a few days ago revealed that Amazon is seeking an experienced individual to lead its digital currency and blockchain department. The finding invited speculation that Amazon was going to support bitcoin payments on its e-commerce store. A few days later, an insider claimed that bitcoin payments will launch later this year. The unnamed source said that Amazon’s orders came from Jeff Bezos, and the project is in advanced stages. The ultimate goal is for Amazon to launch its own cryptocurrency if the bitcoin pilot is successful. Amazon has an official position on the matter, saying that the reports that bitcoin payments are coming soon are unfounded. However, Amazon has not denied its interest in the blockchain landscape.
A blanket denial seems impossible, considering the Amazon job ad discovery. And Amazon acknowledged in its remarks to Reuters that it’s interested in cryptocurrencies:
Notwithstanding our interest in the space, the speculation that has ensued around our specific plans for cryptocurrencies is not true. We remain focused on exploring what this could look like for customers shopping on Amazon.
Amazon rumors and the bitcoin price
The insider said earlier this week that Amazon plans to introduce bitcoin payments first. Other popular digital coins will follow, including ethereum, cardano, and bitcoin cash. At some point after that, Amazon will release a token of its own. The leaker claimed that Amazon customers might be able to earn tokens in loyalty schemes in addition to spending them for goods on the platform.
The person made it sound like Amazon had been working on the transition to bitcoin for quite some time. She offered statements that seemed to indicate that Amazon is in the final stages of implementing the bitcoin payments project. Even if those claims are true, it’s not surprising to see Amazon deny the report.
These reports highlighting Amazon’s interest in bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have fueled another bitcoin price surge early on Monday. The world’s most popular coin approached and then surpassed $40,000. We haven’t seen bitcoin at $40,000 since mid-June. Bitcoin’s rally brought gains across the board, with all major cryptocurrencies in the green on Monday.
Bitcoin closed well over $37,000 on Amazon’s denial, but the currency is slowly crawling back up to $40,000. At the time of this writing, the bitcoin price surpassed $38,500.
Amazon rumors aside, bitcoin has been on ascending trajectory since July 21st, after closing slightly below $29,300 a day earlier. Bitcoin reached a new all-time high more than three months ago when it topped $64,900.
Amazon is just one of the big tech companies making big bitcoin moves this year. PayPal, Tesla, and SpaceX are a few of the others. Elon Musk trolled the landscape for months, although he said he’s still bullish on bitcoin in recent comments.
