Does Amazon Take Bitcoin: Has Crypto Reached the E-Commerce

Does Amazon take Bitcoin as a payment for its listed products? Amazon is one of the most frequented online shopping platforms in the world. Customers can take advantage of countless payment methods — but is cryptocurrency one of them? Let’s dive in.

Does Amazon Accept Bitcoin?

Cryptocurrency’s popularity has risen over the years. As digital currency acceptance has increased, many people have expected Amazon to follow suit. Many would relish the opportunity to use Bitcoin on Amazon, but, as the years have passed, the platform has remained averse to the subject.

As of right now, no Amazon shop accepts Bitcoin or any other crypto as a payment method. While investing in cryptocurrency may seem like a good idea to some individuals, the largest online shopping platform remains hesitant. At this point, there’s no way to make Bitcoin transactions on Amazon — not if you intend to do so through standard methods.

How to Use Bitcoin on Amazon

While you can’t make a normal Amazon–Bitcoin payment, there are ways to use your bitcoins to make purchases.

Pay With a Crypto Card

A crypto card is, essentially, a way to use cryptocurrency to pay for items or services without first having to convert it into cash. You may use either a crypto credit card (a card that offers cryptocurrency rewards rather than standard case-back bonuses) or a crypto debit card (a card that withdraws funds from a crypto wallet rather than a bank account.

Some of the best cryptocurrencies have partnered with other companies — like Visa — to make these transactions possible.

Using a crypto card on Amazon is the same as using any other card. Simply input your information and complete the transaction.

Buy an Amazon Gift Card With Bitcoin

While Amazon won’t allow standard Bitcoin purchases, it does accept gift cards — even those purchased with Bitcoin.

You likely won’t be able to purchase a gift card directly from Amazon. However, some sites allow you to circumvent this issue. Consider Fold, for example — this site allows you to use Bitcoin to purchase gift cards from a range of places, including Amazon.

Certain sites might impose limits on how much value each gift card has. That said, once you obtain one, you can easily use it to complete transactions.

Why Does Amazon Not Accept Bitcoin?

Amazon has never explicitly stated why it doesn’t accept cryptocurrency payments. That hasn’t stopped many from speculating about the cause.

The Volatility

Cryptocurrency’s value is notoriously volatile. One moment, crypto might be worth thousands of dollars; the next, it’s next to worthless. In the investing world, the volatility makes some investors hesitant to purchase the currency. In the marketing world, however, cryptocurrency’s volatility comes with additional challenges.

Amazon needs to ensure it prices its products accurately. Because crypto’s value fluctuates a lot compared to other currencies, using it to calculate product prices can be difficult. One day, a product might have an accurate price, but if a currency’s value decreases drastically the next day, Amazon might need to recalculate the product’s value.

In addition, the value fluctuations may lead to difficulties in processing returns. A product might’ve been worth one price at purchase, but that value might’ve risen or fallen since then. This can lead to frustrating arguments and a range of complications, which Amazon would understandably want to avoid.

The Bad Reputation of Crypto

While cryptocurrency has grown in popularity over the years, it still has somewhat of a negative reputation. Not only is it volatile — if you don’t work through reputable crypto exchanges or brokers, you could find yourself facing issues with scams.

These aren’t the only problems surrounding crypto, however. Since cryptocurrency is entirely digital, hackers are a very real threat. While they can’t directly create cryptocurrency, they can hack into people’s wallets or crypto exchanges to steal it.

A lot of news coverage regarding cryptocurrency has been negative. This has only worsened the public’s opinion of crypto — regardless of the reality.

Corporate giants are less likely to offer cryptocurrency payment options because they worry about their reputation and the risks involved. In addition, cryptocurrency’s poor reputation could reflect badly on the company, reducing potential sales.

Lack of Regulations

Cryptocurrency is complicated. It uses blockchain technology to keep track of transactions, and, while the blockchain itself may be relatively secure, understanding it can be difficult. The complexities surrounding crypto exchanges, the blockchain, and other related idiosyncrasies have made it difficult for governmental bodies to put regulations in place.

Unfortunately, this lack of regulations can cause a range of potential problems. For example, without regulations, it’s difficult to take legal action should someone scam you. This could mean you’ll face significant losses with no way to recoup them.

A lack of regulations may have made Amazon hesitant to accept Bitcoin payments. Without regulations, scams could increase on the site. In addition, Amazon might find itself dealing with legal complications should someone complain. As such, it may have decided that offering Bitcoin payment options isn’t worth the hassle and shelved the idea — at least for now.

The Man Behind Amazon

Amazon may not refuse Bitcoin payments just because of potential issues with the crypto market. It could be just that Jeff Bezos doesn’t like cryptocurrency.

While simply speculation, many people have wondered whether Bezos dislikes Bitcoin. A single newspaper article fueled this theory. In 2016, The Washington Post published the article “R.I.P., Bitcoin. It’s Time To Move On,” an overall negative article that suggested Bitcoin couldn’t live up to its potential. Because Bezos owns The Washington Post, many took this as evidence of his opinion.

The evidence for this theory is still relatively limited. While it’s certainly possible that Bezos dislikes Bitcoin — and has refused to consider Amazon and Bitcoin integration for that reason — without an official statement, it’s hard to be sure. In addition, Andy Jassy recently took over as CEO, so Bezos’s opinions may not hold as much sway over the company as they once did.

Will Amazon Ever Accept Bitcoin?

Amazon has many valid reasons for avoiding Bitcoin integration. Still, there’s evidence of change in the air.

In 2017 and 2018, Amazon purchased several cryptocurrency-related domains. In 2021, the company posted job openings for a digital currency project. Ostensibly, the project would give individuals in emerging economies the opportunity to convert cash into digital currency.

They posted another job opening in 2021 for a Digital Currency and Blockchain Product Lead. All of these suggest an interest in potentially integrating Bitcoin. However, as of right now, the company has offered no official statements. While integration is possible in the future, it might not appear for some time.

Conclusion

Does Amazon take Bitcoin? At the moment — no. However, recent activities by the company suggest a possible change, so you might be able to spend your crypto on Amazon.

In the meantime, you can find workarounds to use your bitcoin for Amazon purchases — for example, by purchasing Amazon gift cards.