Rumors of Amazon Partnership With Amp Fuel a Surge in Crypto Values — But Do They Hold Water?
Will Amazon offer wider crypto acceptance in the near future? The rumors suggest that the answer is yes. Here's what investors can expect.
July 27 2021, Updated 7:01 p.m. ET
Amazon.com, Inc. is an influencer in business, the stock market, and—yes—cryptocurrency. On July 26, Amazon posted a job ad for a position called "digital currency and blockchain product lead." As a result, Bitcoin's value rose more than 11 percent over the last day.
Meanwhile, crypto traders are whispering about whether Amazon will adopt wider cryptocurrency acceptance, including the Amp (AMP) token.
What the rumors say about Amazon's crypto acceptance
The rumors suggest that Amazon might be gearing up for a partnership with Amp (which runs the AMP token) and Algorand (ALGO) to develop its very own cryptocurrency payment system.
Granted, these rumors are still words on the street. However, the idea that Amazon could accept coins like Bitcoin (BTC) as well as altcoins like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) are causing many investors to make big moves in their crypto wallet.
While AMP coin still has a penny value of less than $0.10, the token's value is up more than 53 percent over the last day. That's a huge move, and shows just how wild cryptocurrency swings can be—and just how influential Amazon is.
Where do these rumors come from?
The rumors come from none other than YouTuber BitBoy Crypto, who boasts 1.15 million subscribers and posted on July 25 about the supposedly top-secret Amazon crypto plan. The YouTuber, whose real name is Ben Armstrong, first invested in Bitcoin in 2012 and has climbed the ranks ever since.
Armstrong said on his video, "The new CEO [Amazon has] hired is very crypto friendly." He adds, "I can't verify the truth of this. The rumor is that Amazon will be accepting crypto in quarter three. [...] What I was told is there are two coins that Amazon is going to be working with."
Armstrong reports that he invested $100,000 in both AMP and ALGO after catching wind of what he says are potential projects in the Amazon pipeline.
Amazon's job ad for digital currency gives merit to the speculation
At first glance, the claims in BitBoy Crypto's YouTube video feel unfounded. However, Amazon's recent job ad for a digital currency lead gives some merit to the rumors. Armstrong even covers this in his video.
The job ad isn't a given that Amazon will accept cryptocurrency via an Amp and Algorand partnership, but it's proof that the company plans to look into and develop crypto solutions. However, a statement to Coindesk takes some of the wind out of BitBoy's sails. "Notwithstanding our interest in the space, the speculation that has ensued around our specific plans for cryptocurrencies is not true,” it read. “We remain focused on exploring what this could look like for customers shopping on Amazon.”
The speculators' focus on altcoins is interesting given the fact that these tokens are so much more volatile and unpredictable than Bitcoin (which is already rather volatile and unpredictable itself). However, AMP in particular acts as digital collateral and is instantly transferable. Because of that, it could make sense for this particular token to join forces with the quick-delivery e-commerce platform.
Whether or not there's truth to the rumors, Amazon is bound to make some changes under CEO Andy Jassy's directive.