Amazon plots cryptocurrency payments move, insider claims

Amazon is reportedly planning to start accepting Bitcoin payments by the end of 2021.

An anonymous source within the e-commerce giant told City A.M.: “This isn’t just going through the motions to set up cryptocurrency payment solutions at some point in the future.”

“This is a full on, well discussed, integral part of the future mechanism of how Amazon will work.”

The “directive is coming from the very top,” referring to Jeff Bezos, they added.

In addition to accepting Bitcoin payments, Amazon is exploring the creation of its own cryptocurrency, possibly as early as 2022.

Speculation about Amazon’s entry into the crypto market has been heating up over the past few days after the company revealed it was recruiting for a digital currency and blockchain product lead within its Payments Acceptance & Experience team.

Amazon is in the market for a digital currency and blockchain product lead within its Payments Acceptance & Experience team #Amazon #retailjobs #blockchain #cryptocurrencies #payments #cryptocurrency https://t.co/2EjCxRZqMR
— Retail Technology Innovation Hub (@RTIH_RetailTech) July 26, 2021

According to a job listing, it is “seeking an experienced product leader to develop Amazon’s digital currency and blockchain strategy and product roadmap.”

It adds: “You will leverage your domain expertise in blockchain, distributed ledger, central bank digital currencies and cryptocurrency 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.”

“You will work closely with teams across Amazon including AWS to develop the roadmap including the customer experience, technical strategy and capabilities as well as the launch strategy.”

A spokesperson told RTIH that Amazon was “inspired by the innovation happening in the cryptocurrency space and was exploring what this could look like for us.”

Its cloud division, Amazon Web Services (AWS), meanwhile, has a managed blockchain service.

No great surprise

“Rumours around Amazon taking a punt on cryptocurrency – and potentially creating its own native token – aren’t all that surprising for a company that has expanded every which way horizontally and vertically,” says Naji El-Arifi, Head of Innovation at Wunderman Thompson Commerce.

It will likely tie this cryptocurrency in with its Prime loyalty programme in a bid to attract more subscribers, he believes.

“if it owns the currency it will likely be able to personalise its offering and draw users away from other more established currencies. And this won’t just be Bitcoin but potential fiat currencies like the dollar.”

Challenges remain, however, in relation to the environmental impact of Bitcoin and whether this will untie some of the sustainability pledges Amazon is making.

“One avenue the online giant might take is to introduce its own environmentally friendly cryptocurrency. And if there is one company that can capitalise on this trend, it’s Amazon,” El-Arifi concludes.