Amazon Denies Accepting Bitcoin Payments

Amazon has denied a report claiming that it plans to start accepting Bitcoin as payment before the end of the year.

“Despite our interest in the space, speculation about our specific plans for cryptocurrency is not correct. We remain focused on exploring what this might look like for customers who shop on Amazon,” a company spokesperson told Reuters.

The rejection came after London-based financial paper City AM reported a specific series of plans obtained from a company insider. According to City AM, Amazon is ready to accept Bitcoin as payment this year, followed by other popular cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum.

The flurry of speculation was prompted by the company's inclusion last week of a "leading digital currency and blockchain product."

The reports have caused sharp fluctuations in the price of Bitcoin over the past week. Reuters notes that the currency rose as much as 14.5% after the City AM report.

But over the past day, its price has fallen from a high of more than $40,000 to under $37,000, according to data from CoinDesk. Last week, the cryptocurrency traded in the $29,000 and $32,000 range.