The crypto industry has made incredible progress over the past decade, yet the dream of mass adoption still has not come true. Despite the fact that certain large companies such as Tesla are starting to accept Bitcoin as payment, there is a general reluctance on the part of the corporate world to utilize blockchain technology.
Amazon is a company that currently does not offer its clients an opportunity to directly pay with cryptocurrency for products on its website. Yet, there are a number of viable options to avoid the use of fiat when buying goods from Amazon.
Buying Gift Cards with Bitcoin
Bitrefill
The lack of built-in Bitcoin payments at Amazon does not stop committed crypto users from shopping online strictly with their coins. Digital gift cards are one of the most popular ways to circumvent the utilization of fiat money when purchasing goods from retailers that do not accept crypto. Naturally, the demand for gift cards among the members of the crypto community is high, which has propelled numerous services to emerge in this field.
Bitrefill is a website that has one of the largest selections of gift cards online, including Amazon’s. The platform features Amazon cards from Canada, the US, Germany, Japan, India, and many other countries. Before buying the card, it is essential to ensure that the card’s country matches the one where the client wants to redeem it. The cards range in value from $200 to $2000. Bitrefill accepts Bitcoin and several altcoins, including Ethereum, Dash, and Dogecoin.
LimonX
LimonX is another gift card service that allows customers to pay with cryptocurrencies. Compared to Bitrefill, LimonX has its own advantages. For instance, the platform sells more affordable types of Amazon cards, namely, €25, €50, €100. LimonX offers cards mainly for European countries such as France, the Netherlands, and the UK, but the cards for US shoppers are also available. The choice of crypto payment options at LimonX is impressive, apart from Bitcoin and Ethereum, users can pay with XRP, Monero, Litecoin, Zcash, and other altcoins.
Coinsbee
Coinsbee provides its customers with Amazon git cards of different value for various countries, including Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Turkey. The service welcomes clients who have tokens such as Augur, Basic Attention Token, as well as those who prefer stablecoins, for example, TrueUSD and Tether.
eGifter
eGifter is a good choice for buying gift cards with Bitcoin for people living in the US. The Amazon cards start from $5 and go up to $500. The platform often runs promotions, so there is always a chance to get an Amazon card at a great discount. Just add the card to the cart, proceed to the checkout, type in your email, and choose the preferred crypto payment option. After purchasing the product, eGifter will send the code for the digital card to your email.
Alternative Ways to Pay with Bitcoin at Amazon
Bitcoin Debit Card
The international payment processing company Visa recognized the significance of blockchain technology and now collaborates with several crypto platforms to produce crypto debit cards. One of Visa’s partners in this venture is Coinbase, the renowned exchange. Coinbase’s card is a perfect fit for those who do not want to manually convert their cryptocurrency funds to fiat every time they make a transaction. Coinbase debit card performs this procedure automatically prior to completing a purchase. Thus, buying products at Amazon with Bitcoin becomes an easy task since the card does all the necessary work by itself. This method still implies the use of fiat currencies, yet the cardholder does not have to interact with them. Additionally, there is an opportunity to earn a cashback with the card, up to 4% in Stellar Lumens or 1% in Bitcoin.
Moon Virtual Cards
Moon is a service that lets its clients create virtual cards and pay for them with crypto. The sum in crypto then gets converted to fiat, and the card can be used to pay for products at major online vendors, including Amazon. To start utilizing Moon’s cards, the user has to install a plugin for Chrome browser, then purchase a virtual card with a Coinbase account or a Lightning network wallet. After their payment is processed, the user will have a Visa prepaid card in USD. It is important to note that every card can be used only once in order to ensure better security.
Purse.io
Purse.io lets you shop and also get discounts on Amazon while using Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash. You can also earn Bitcoin “by fulfilling Shoppers’ Amazon orders”.
About Amazon
From A Bookstore to An E-Commerce Giant
Amazon was established as an online bookstore in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, the man who, as the CEO, has led the company to its prominence. The business rode the wave of the increasing web popularity of the 90s and successfully survived the burst of the dot-com bubble in 2001. Almost thirty years later, Amazon is the largest online retailer, and its market capitalization has surpassed one trillion dollars. Yet, most importantly, Amazon has extended its selection of goods from books to virtually all kinds of products available to people in every part of the world.
Advantages of Using Amazon
In addition to an ability to satisfy any demand, Amazon has an exemplary shipping service and even offers same-day delivery thanks to its excellent inventory management and own cargo airline with a fleet of seventy-seven planes. Amazon’s shipping fees are also among the lowest in the market, and if someone is a regular, they can purchase the Prime subscription and enjoy free delivery. Prices at Amazon are often lower than at brick-and-mortar retailers, especially when buying in bulk. Finally, Amazon has a reliable return policy that guarantees a refund in case the arrived item is defective or incorrect.
Amazon’s Relationship with Crypto
As it was mentioned earlier, Amazon has not yet made any efforts to invest in BTC and start accepting Bitcoin. In 2014, the company’s representatives said that they did not see any desire of its clientele to pay with cryptocurrencies and thus stayed away from venturing into the industry. Yet, in 2019, the company launched its service Amazon Managed Blockchain which allows clients to open and manage their own blockchain networks or join the existing public ones. Customers even can access Ethereum networks using APIs. Unfortunately, it is the only connection of Amazon to the crypto world, but it shows that the company believes in the potential of the technology and may actually start accepting crypto in the future.
Conclusion
Amazon has the capacity to satisfy the needs of any person on the planet thanks to its astounding selection of products. Yet, in terms of crypto payments, the company is still lagging behind the pioneers such as Tesla. Nevertheless, enthusiasts still have several ways, such as gift cards and Bitcoin debit cards, to utilize their crypto funds when purchasing goods at Amazon.