Is Amazon finally getting onboard with Bitcoin?

A Change.org petition urging Amazon to accept Bitcoin has gained nearly 12,000 signatures.

In a blog post for ParcelHero, Forbes' cryptocurrency journalist Roger Aitken argues that accepting Bitcoin will ‘streamline commerce’ and improve the purchasing experience for millions of Amazon shoppers. And he says some industry pundits are predicting the e-tailer could make an announcement on adopting Bitcoin during its next investor call, scheduled for 26th October. “Fellow tech company Microsoft was famously an early adopter of the new digital currency, back in 2014. There’s little doubt that if Amazon were also to accept Bitcoin it would legitimise the currency.” 

In 2014, a similar Change.org petition drew around 5,300 signatures, but Amazon kicked the idea into touch. It is a different market today, however, claims Aitken. The value of Bitcoin has risen steeply and there are over 14 million Bitcoin wallets in use. Indeed, we should all consider joining the ‘cryptocurrency party’. “Prudent thinking is that it makes sense to dip your investing toes in the water to gain some crypto exposure as a diversification from your other investments: like shares, bonds and ISAs. Bitcoin’s price broke through the $1,000 mark in late 2016 and has been on something of a meteoric rise in recent months, despite witnessing some volatile price swings, and recently has been on a high of over $4,000 a coin.”

He goes on to warn that, of the 600 cryptocurrencies released, not all will be as established as Bitcoin and Ethereum and there is also “some real garbage out there…Some warn Bitcoin and its fellows are all reminiscent of the Internet/dotcom of the late 1990s - a passing fad that created a bubble.” Yet, as more and more adventurers brave this new frontier, it becomes harder for the rest to deny the success of cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology that supports them.