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Bitcoin pulls back from highs as Amazon denies payment rumours

FILE - In this June 6, 2019, file photo Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos speaks at the the Amazon re:MARS convention in Las Vegas.  The Amazon founder officially stepped down as CEO on Monday, July 5, 2021, handing over the reins as the company navigates the challenges of a world fighting to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic. Andy Jassy, the head of Amazon’s cloud-computing business, replaced Bezos, a change the company had announced in February.  (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The e-commerce giant denied it was poised to accept bitcoin and other cryptocurencies. Photo: AP Photo/John Locher, File (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) has fallen away from recent highs after Amazon (AMZN) denied a report that it was considering accepting cryptocurrencies as payment.

Bitcoin and other cryptos rallied on Monday amid speculation that the e-commerce giant was poised to accept digital money.

Amazon recently posted a job listing for a "Digital Currency and Blockchain Product Lead". London paper CityAM ran a story on Sunday night saying Amazon was poised to accept bitcoin, ethereum, Cardarno, and BitcoinCash.

Watch: What is bitcoin?

Read more: Could ethereum overtake bitcoin?

Amazon denied the CityAM story in a statement late on Monday.

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

Bitcoin had climbed as high as $40,000 (£28,954) on Monday but retreated after Amazon's statement. The world's biggest digital currency was 4.3% to $37,087 by 8.15am in London on Tuesday.

Bitcoin was off Monday's highs but still above where it had traded on Sunday. Photo: Yahoo Finance UK
Bitcoin was off Monday's highs but still above where it had traded on Sunday. Photo: Yahoo Finance UK (Yahoo Finance UK)

The broader cryptocurrency market was also in decline. Ethereum (ETH-USD) was down 6.8% to $2,200, Cardarno (ADA-USD) was 8.5% lower at $1.25, and BitcoinCash (BCH-USD) was down 6% to $476. The cryptocurrency market lost 5.2% of its value over the last 24 hours, according to data provider CoinMarketCap.

While bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were off Monday's highs, most remained above where they traded on Sunday night. Analysts said the spike on Monday triggered a wave of buying from traders who were shorting bitcoin and now wanted to close their positions.

Watch: What are the risks of investing in bitcoin?