The leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, surged overnight reaching US$39,000 (RM165,028), a level it hasn’t reached since last June. The reason? It appears to be tied to the circulation of a rumour that Amazon is considering accepting some cryptocurrencies as payment by the end of the year.
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Early last week, Bitcoin continued its slow decline, trading below the US$30,000 (RM126,945) mark. But that’s all in the past after a week in which Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey and Cathie Wood all reaffirmed their confidence in the future of crypto assets. And then came a rumour suggesting that Amazon is planning to accept payment on its platform in Bitcoin by the end of the year. The American company is even considering the possibility of creating its own currency during 2022.
It was a job posting for a cryptocurrency and blockchain lead that gave the first hint. The position says it is looking for someone who can “leverage domain expertise in blockchain, distributed ledger (where every transaction made within a blockchain is recorded), central bank digital currencies and cryptocurrency”. The rumours got added traction from a source who spoke to London’s CityAM newspaper.
First key step
According to the source, “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,” CityAM reported.
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“It begins with Bitcoin – this is the key first stage of this crypto project, and the directive is coming from the very top… Jeff Bezos himself,” said the source.
According to this internal source, the company has been thinking about this initiative for a long time. The plans are said to be in place and some teams have been working on it since 2019. Indeed a rumour making the rounds earlier this year suggested that the company was working on its own cryptocurrency with Mexico as a potential test zone.
This latest rumour has ignited the cryptocurrency market, with the vast majority seeing notable increases. In 24 hours, Bitcoin gained a little over 10%; over the whole week it was up about US$10,000 (RM42,315). While many experts saw Bitcoin as having entered a phase of slow decline, this rumour appears to be changing everything.
With tech giants posting positive statements and initiatives in favour of cryptocurrencies lately, investors are hoping to see a stabilising of the market, although some experts predict a backlash.-AFP Relaxnews