Rumors are circulating that Amazon may begin accepting Bitcoin as a payment method this October. The rumors appear to stem from a recent report on squawker.org, Some surveys have indicated that the company would have a financial reason to do so, but no official announcement has been made.
The squawker.org article references a mention in investor James Altucher’s newsletter. According to the source, Altucher is an experienced trader who many believe could have pre-announcement information. The article comments:
“James Altucher has (co)founded more than 20 companies, authored 11 books, and has been a contributor to several major publications.He is a former hedge fund manager and venture capitalist turned activist blogger/podcaster and offers a subscription based mailing list – the source of the Amazon information.”
Such an announcement is a long shot, but isn’t inconceivable. As online retailers begin to embrace Bitcoin, Amazon will likely respond in kind, in order to maintain its dominance. Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne said:
“They have to follow suit. I’d be stunned if they don’t, because they can’t just cede that part of the market to us, if we’re the only main, large retail site accepting Bitcoin.”
Following suit
The move would also continue a trend that began with Overstock and has included other enterprise-level tech companies. A recent comment within a Google API tutorial has led many to believe that the online behemoth will also begin accepting Bitcoin within the Google Store, as PayPal and others already do.
As recently as this summer, users were petitioning Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, to begin accepting the cryptocurrency. The move may occur as early as October 26th, during the next earnings conference call.
It should be reiterated that this is likely only a rumor at this point, and could be swiftly put to rest. Nonetheless, it is interesting to speculate on the possibilities if Amazon does one day integrate Bitcoin. As the adoption of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies grow, retailers will need to join the progression toward acceptance in order to remain relevant.