Rumors: Will Amazon Begin Accepting Bitcoin?

Rumor has it Amazon will be accepting bitcoin as a payment option. Many are saying it could happen as early as October 26th, during their next earnings conference call. As encouraging as this prospect sounds, it's important not to get swept away by the hype.

Let's do a little digging shall we?

First off let me just start by saying that I firmly believe Bitcoin, and many other "alts", will inevitably go mainstream. In fact, it's already happening. Resistance by the old order bankers is futile. But it's important to remain objective and do our due diligence when pursuing the truth behind the headlines. As we have learned from what recently happened with the Jamie Dimon fiasco, there are a lot of attempts to manipulate the market.

Earlier this summer, a petition began on change.org calling for Amazon to accept Bitcoin and Litecoin as payment methods. As of the time I'm writing this, they are up to 9,737 supporters out of a required 10,000.

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But the recent spike in chatter began with an article on squawker.com posted September 22nd. It has a rather assumptive, clickbaity, headline: "BREAKING: Amazon Will Accept Bitcoin By October". I'll admit, I've been suckered into clicking on these types of headlines, but over the years, I've grown a little more cautious.

This article references a newsletter released by James Altucher (a former hedge fund manager and venture capitalist turned activist blogger/podcaster) who looks a bit like a cross between Bob Dylan and Bill Gates. He offers a subscription mailing list, which is the source of the Amazon information.

There has been no official acknowledgement from Amazon regarding this rumor. However it is true that Amazon web services partnered up with Digital Currency Group back in May of 2016. In James Altucher's newsletter, he states that:

Amazon is “working with financial institutions and [crypto experts] to spur innovation and facilitate frictionless experimentation.”

At this point it's just speculation. It may not happen in October. But Amazon will adapt to a changing landscape, whether it be bitcoin or the creation of their own currency (again, speculation).

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And for the sake of sharing free knowledge. You can already use bitcoin to purchase products on Amazon... well sort of. Purse.io established in 2015, serves as an escrow between the bitcoin holder and Amazon.