Amazon has officially denied the rumors of the company’s plan to accept Bitcoin as payment that created an opportunistic rush in the cryptocurrency market on Monday.
“Notwithstanding our interest in the space, the speculation that has ensued around our specific plans for Cryptocurrencies is not true,” an Amazon spokesperson said. “We remain focused on exploring what this could look like for customers shopping on Amazon.”
The confirmation came after London-based business daily City A.M. reported, citing an anonymous insider, that the e-commerce giant is planning to accept Bitcoin by the end of this year and will consecutively extend the support to other top digital currencies.
The insider further said that Amazon has been working on cryptocurrencies since 2019, and “this entire project is pretty much ready to roll.”
Will the Market Shed Its Gains?
However, the cryptocurrency market reacted sharply before Amazon’s official denial. Bitcoin rallied 14.5 percent in only a few hours to reach almost $40,000 but finally settled at above $37,000. Other cryptocurrencies, big or small, have also followed Bitcoin to gain some of their lost values.
Though Amazon categorically denied the rumors of taking Bitcoin as payment, the company is still looking for a digital currency and Blockchain product lead.
On the other hand, Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, recently said that the electric car company is considering accepting Bitcoin again against the sale of its cars. The company first introduced the Bitcoin payment mode in March 2021 but scrapped it in less than a couple of months.
Despite Amazon’s official denial, the rumors surely pulled the cryptocurrency market out of a looming bearish sentiment. Bitcoin is still significantly down from its record peak, and the overall cryptocurrency market has shed around $1 trillion since May.
