Global e-commerce giant Amazon.com denied a media report stating it was planning to accept bitcoin payments by the end of 2021.

"Notwithstanding our interest in the space, the speculation that has ensued around our specific plans for cryptocurrencies is not true. We remain focused on exploring what this could look like for customers shopping on Amazon," a spokesperson from Amazon said.

London business daily City AM cited an unnamed insider as saying Amazon would start accepting cryptocurrency, citing a recent job posting by the company for someone with digital currency and blockchain skills.

The company wants to “develop the case for the capabilities which should be developed, drive the overall vision and product strategy, and gain leadership buy-in and investment for new capabilities," the ad read.

Bitcoin's price rose above $40,000 on Monday, representing the first time the market has moved above that level since mid-June supported by speculation about Amazon's interest in cryptocurrency as well as bullish statements from Twitter and Tesla CEOs.

Twitter's Jack Dorsey said the digital currency is a "big part" of the social media firm's future. Elon Musk said Tesla would likely resume accepting bitcoin once it conducts due diligence on its energy use. 

At the time of writing this report, Bitcoin is down more than 4 percent in the last 24 hours, trading at $37,261.98.

(Writing by Seban Scaria; editing by Daniel Luiz) 

(seban.scaria@refinitiv.com)

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