Amazon could take bitcoin payments in 2021 as it prepares own cryptocurrency

Amazon may soon start taking bitcoin as payment for goods and services, according to a report, with the retailer also potentially looking into creating its own cryptocurrency.

Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and others continue to be popular, if volatile as a form of investment, with more companies accepting bitcoin for payments as time marches on. If a report is to be believed, bitcoin payments may get a considerable boost from Amazon.

Citing an anonymous source of City A.M., Amazon has posted a job advertisement for a "Senior Blockchain Specialist" in the United Kingdom. The role is based in Amazon Web Services for its Amazon Managed Blockchain Service, rather than for its retail arm.

It is claimed bitcoin will be the first of eight cryptocurrencies that Amazon will accept, with the main rival currency etherium also set to be included in the roster once Amazon has perfected the system with bitcoin.

Amazon has reportedly been working on the project since 2019, and could take place pretty soon, with the source claiming "This entire project is pretty much ready to roll."

Once Amazon has sorted out cryptocurrency payments, the source said Amazon will "push things even further" in its favor with "a native token." It is thought the token could help produce a "multi-level infrastructure where you can pay for goods and services or earn tokens in a loyalty scheme."

Amazon won't be the first major tech company to get involved with cryptocurrencies. In 2019, Facebook subsidiary Calibra was attempting to introduce a digital wallet for a blockchain currency called Libra, which was rebranded to Diem and is expected to be piloted in 2021.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is a major supporter of cryptocurrencies, with Tesla itself accepting payments for vehicles in bitcoin for a brief period.

Apple is also seemingly looking into the same market, with a job listing from May indicating it wanted to examine "alternative payment" platforms like digital wallets and cryptocurrencies. One analyst has also proposed that Apple could start a cryptocurrency exchange, one that integrates with the Wallet app.

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7 Comments

killroy 286 comments · 17 Years

About 3 years ago

Good luck getting it past the IRS and treasury department.

StrangeDays 12980 comments · 8 Years

Yes because the work needs more cryptocurrencies. Somebody’s been watching too much Start Up…

auxio 2764 comments · 19 Years

Every week there seem to be a half dozen new cryptocurrencies. It's as oversaturated as cannabis shops are here.

hentaiboy 1252 comments · 14 Years

“In 2019, Facebook subsidiary Calibra was attempting to introduce a digital wallet for a blockchain currency called Libra, which was rebranded to Diem”

Yeah that was a wise move.

GeorgeBMac 11421 comments · 8 Years

The U.S. needs to step on this right now. It currently has the world's reserve currency and that gives it more power than any aircraft carrier. Ours, the whole world depend on it.

But, cryptocurrencies threaten to dethrone it. That would be bad for everybody -- but especially the U.S.

Better, if we have to go there, would a CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency). China has already begun testing one and the U.S. is considering it.. In practice, everybody but the banks would win -- especially the poor and unbanked. Instead, people could simply transfer money back and forth among each other without the involvement of a bank -- so poor people without bank accounts would be able to access online payments. But then who would need a bank? Yeh, you would lose out on that 0.001% interest they pay but I don't think too many would be losing sleep over that.

In reality, AppleCash already provides 90% of the benefit: You can transfer money to and from people and businesses quickly and easily. It's not unusual for me to get a call from my grandson saying something like: "Hey! I'm at the mall and I'm hungry but I don't have any money. Can you send me $10 or $12? And, all I have to do is send him an iMessage with the money and he can buy food (or whatever he really wanted!). It is free, easy and instant. But, it does use banks in the background: not only does the initial cash in an AppleCash account have to come from a bank account, but the AppleCash is actually stored in a bank.

And, another thing you would lose is the FDIC guarantee on your money: if the holder of your money goes belly up the FDIC will cover your loss.