TheCable

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, surged above $40,000 — for the first time since mid-June.

The price of the cryptocurrency traded 7.1 percent higher on Wednesday afternoon, reaching $40,606 by 1:12p.m., according to data obtained from coinmarketcap.com.

The last time Bitcoin traded above $40,000 was June 14, 2021.

The sharp rise followed a British newspaper’s report that Amazon is planning to accept bitcoin payments by the end of the year.

The report added that the multinational tech company was investigating the potential of developing its token.

On Monday, Amazon said the report was untrue, dismissing speculations about its plans for cryptocurrencies.

“Notwithstanding our interest in the space, the speculation that has ensued around our specific plans for cryptocurrencies is not true,” a spokesperson from Amazon said.

“We remain focused on exploring what this could look like for customers shopping on Amazon.”

Last week, Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla, revealed details of his crypto holdings.

His disclosure had caused the price of Bitcoin to rise above $32,000.

He also said Tesla is “likely” to start accepting Bitcoin as a payment method again.

“I wanted a little bit more due diligence to confirm that the percentage of renewable energy usage is most likely at or above 50%, and that there is a trend towards increasing that number, and if so, Tesla would resume accepting Bitcoin,” he had said.

In Nigeria, the CBN had directed banks to close accounts of persons or entities involved in cryptocurrency transactions.