Share this article
Amazon Exec Says Company Decided Against Accepting Bitcoin
A top Amazon exec says the e-commerce giant isn't currently interested in accepting bitcoin due to weak customer demand.
Updated Sep 11, 2021, 10:39 a.m. Published Apr 14, 2014, 5:35 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
In this article
Amazon is not interested in embracing bitcoin, but it is looking into new digital payment services, possibly a service developed in-house, a new report suggests.
The company's payments head Tom Taylor told Re/code that Amazon did indeed consider bitcoin, but eventually decided that there was not enough interest in the technology for Amazon to benefit from adopting it.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Said Taylor:
"Obviously, it gets a lot of press and we have considered it, but we’re not hearing from customers that it’s right for them, and don’t have any plans within Amazon to engage bitcoin."
Amazon’s revenue in 2013 was almost $75bn, while the market cap of all bitcoins ever created is roughly $5bn.
Amazon has more pressing issues
Taylor pointed out that Amazon has bigger goals at the moment than experimenting with digital currencies. For example, he noted that Amazon needs to deal with foreign exchange rates and other issues affecting sellers.
The Amazon exec admitted that a global currency has some advantages, and that credit card companies are not supplying enough information that could help merchants better understand customer behaviour.
When asked whether Amazon would ever launch a service that would compete against big brand credit cards, Taylor said Amazon would only if it felt confident that it could do a better job than American Express and Visa.
He added that the service would have to be “something much better” than what is already available.
Re/code’s Jason Del Ray cited industry sources who believe it is only a matter of time before Amazon launches its own payments service, but the company is not saying much for the time being.
Amazon's payments history
Interestingly, Amazon started experimenting with its own digital coins last May.
were handed out to buyers of Kindle Fire tablets and could be used to purchase apps and various virtual items on the company's app store.
Of course, Amazon Coins were never envisioned as a currency or as an alternative payments system, they were basically a way of boosting customer loyalty and promoting the Amazon Appstore. Although Amazon's tablets are Android-based, they run a tweaked version of Google's mobile operating system and don't feature access to the Google Play Store.
Amazon is rumoured to be working on one or more smartphones that should use the same approach as its Kindle Fire tablets, so the company has a good reason to promote its closed app ecosystem.
Bitcoin not seeing interest from big brands
Earlier this year, Overstock became the biggest US retailer to accept bitcoin, and two months later the company announced that its bitcoin sales had surpassed $1m. Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne said the biggest surge came on the first day of bitcoin sales, but the company also saw gradual growth in bitcoin sales on a week-by-week basis.
TigerDirect joined the bitcoin club a few weeks after Overstock. The results were similar, the tech retailer surpassed $1m in bitcoin sales in less than two months. The company's director of marketing Steven Leeds told CoinDesk that the overwhelming response validated the company’s decision to embrace bitcoin.
Still, outside of these examples, and a handful of rumours, merchant adoption has not seen the traction some predicted at the start of the year.
Amazon’s arch rival eBay is staying away from bitcoin, too, but at least it is allowing users to sell their bitcoins and bitcoin-related merchandise through its classifieds.
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
Gold tops $5,000 as bitcoin stalls near $87,000 in widening macro-crypto split: Asia Morning Briefing
Bitcoin’s onchain data points to supply overhang and weak participation, while gold’s breakout is priced by markets as a durable macro regime shift.
What to know:
- Gold’s surge above $5,000 an ounce is increasingly seen as a durable regime shift, with investors treating the metal as a persistent hedge against geopolitical risk, central bank demand and a weaker dollar.
- Bitcoin is stuck near $87,000 in a low-conviction market, as on-chain data show older holders selling into rallies, newer buyers absorbing losses and a heavy supply overhang capping moves toward $100,000.
- Derivatives and prediction markets point to continued consolidation in bitcoin and sustained strength in gold, with thin futures volumes, subdued leverage and weak demand for higher-beta crypto assets like ether reinforcing the cautious tone.
Top Stories
