FACT CHECK: Does Amazon Accept Dogecoin As Payment?

A post shared on Facebook claims Amazon is now accepting the digital currency Dogecoin as payment.

Verdict: False

Amazon does not accept any digital currency as payment, according to an Amazon spokesperson. The claim may stem from a popular online petition asking Amazon to accept Dogecoin as payment.

Fact Check:

Dogecoin has increased in value in recent months and briefly reached an all-time high of 69 cents on May 5, a 12,000 percent increase since Jan. 1, according to CNBC. In recent days, some social media users have claimed Amazon is now accepting Dogecoin as a form of payment.

There is no evidence, however, Amazon added Dogecoin as an acceptable payment method on its website. Had Amazon made such a decision, media outlets almost certainly would have reported on it, yet none have done so. Check Your Fact also checked Amazon’s “Payment Methods” page, which lists the way Amazon customers can purchase items, but cryptocurrency, such as Dogecoin and Bitcoin, is not listed as a form of payment.

Ross Nicoll, a developer for Dogecoin, told The Associated Press (AP) that there was no deal between Amazon and Dogecoin to allow the cryptocurrency as payment. Amazon spokesperson Nell Rona also confirmed to Check Your Fact that the e-commerce company does not accept cryptocurrency as payment.

“No, Amazon does not accept cryptocurrency,” Rona said via email. “Yes, customers can purchase Amazon gift cards using bitcoin from a small number of authorized resellers.” (RELATED: Eric Trump Claims Amazon Doesn’t Use E-Verify For Most Of Its Employees)

Some authorized resellers of Amazon gift cards, such as BitPay, accept Bitcoin and other digital currencies as payment. BitPay, for example, announced March 4 that it will now accept Dogecoin as payment. Cryptocurrency paid to these resellers is converted into “local currency,” according to BitPay’s website.

“BitPay displays the invoice for your customer. Your customer pays the BitPay invoice at a locked-in exchange rate,” reads the BitPay website. “BitPay converts the customer’s payment into your local currency. BitPay initiates a bank settlement to you the next business day.”

The claim may stem from a petition on Change.org asking Amazon to accept Dogecoin as a form of payment. The petition, which was started four years ago, recently began gaining traction and had collected 200,000 signatures in late April, according to Newsweek. As of press time, it has over 222,800 signatures.

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