Amazon has denied claims it is preparing to accept payments in Bitcoin.
The e-commerce giant had been the centre of much excitement in the crypto space earlier this week following a report that it was looking to hire experts in the field.
However Amazon has now said the claims, which suggested the company might also be prepared to accept other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Cardano and Bitcoin Cash, are completely false.
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No Bitcoin for Amazon
"Notwithstanding our interest in the space, the speculation that has ensued around our specific plans for cryptocurrencies is not true," an Amazon spokesperson told Reuters.
"We remain focused on exploring what this could look like for customers shopping on Amazon."
The original report from City AM claimed to have uncovered an Amazon job listing for a “cryptocurrency and blockchain lead”. The post said that Amazon was looking for someone that can “leverage domain expertise in blockchain, distributed ledger, central bank digital currencies and cryptocurrency”.
However, Amazon also wants to “develop the case for the capabilities which should be developed, drive overall vision and product strategy, and gain leadership buy-in and investment for new capabilities”.
The company did not comment on a secondary part of the City AM report which claimed that Amazon is also working on developing its own digital token.
If Amazon did add support for a number of cryptocurrencies, it could also feasably create its own native token - although this would probably depend on how successful its rollout of Bitcoin payment support goes.
Recent figures have shown that Amazon still leads the global e-commerce market comfortably, with over a quarter, or 27% of consumer spending in the UK going through the company.
However, somewhat surprisingly, two thirds of shoppers around the world reported that they would still favour shopping with brands that have both an online presence and physical, bricks and mortar stores.
The presence of Covid-19 remains a strong reason for putting many consumers off shopping in physical stores, with 41% reporting they’re concerned about the prospect of setting foot in a shop. However, the percentage has dropped from the 48% who said the same thing last year.
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Via Reuters
