In February, reports emerged that Amazon is working on a new digital currency for users to spend on its platforms. Speculation started growing after the company put out two job adverts for its ‘Digital and Emerging Payments (DEP)’ division. The adverts indicated that the company was in the process of developing a system, which would allow customers to “convert their cash into digital currency”.

The post said: “We are building a tech team to build innovative payment products for customers in emerging markets.”

It also revealed the virtual money could be used for shopping as well as services like Prime Video.

The adverts were later removed, as reported by Tech Radar at the time, who also said the project will launch in Mexico first.

Secrecy has surrounded the reported plans as Amazon has not made a public comment on the proposed digital currency system.

It would not be Amazon’s only digital coin project as the tech giant has already started working on Amazon Coins – designed to offer users discounts on purchases on Kindles and Fire tablets.

It is not clear if the two projects are linked.

Jeff Bezos founded the e-commerce giant in 1994 out of his garage in Seattle. He will step down as CEO and become executive chairman in late 2021

Martin Bamford, a chartered financial planner at Informed Choice, positively welcomed the reports of an Amazon digital currency in an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk.

He argued Amazon is probably one of the few tech giants able to “pull it off”.

He explained: “They have got that scale and they have got that massive customer base.

“If you think about it… it is scary how much we used Amazon during the pandemic.

“So yeah, Amazon could definitely pull it off.”

Mr Bamford added: “However, a few years back we were rumbling about Facebook doing something similar and then it didn’t come to anything.”

When asked why, the financial adviser said: “I don’t know why they decided not to follow through with it.

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“They do have a huge user base – it just never seemed to hit the market.”

Mr Bamford noted that if Amazon developed it for buying goods on their platform it would be a good thing.

However he warned people could start buying Amazon soins, speculating whether they would go up in value or not.

He insisted: “It loses its central purpose.”

After reaching a record a few days ago, Bitcoin is dropping, along with other popular cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin fell 10.1 percent to $54,743.57 (£39,295.76) as of 7.30am in New York last week.

Online reports attributed the plunge to speculation the US Treasury may crack down on money laundering that is carried out through digital assets.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency seems to be a divisive topic among top investors.

Co-founder and former CEO of Microsoft, Bill Gates, is reported to believe things will only get worse as time goes on.

Stock market analysis YouTube channel MHFIN said: “Gates has been talking about the cryptocurrency for quite a while.

“It’s pretty obvious he’s not a fan.

“But why is he still pessimistic about the cryptocurrency and why is he betting on a total collapse?”

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The video, titled ‘Bill Gates: The Bitcoin Panic of 2021’ rolled to the “earliest clip” of Mr Gates discussing the coin in May 2013.

He said: “I think it is a tour de force.

“It’s an area where governments are going to maintain a dominant role.”

The analysis then fast-forwarded to a 2021 interview with Mr Gates, to see how his opinion had changed.

He said: “I don’t own Bitcoin, I’m not shorting it, so I take a neutral view.

“Moving money into a digital form and getting transaction costs down is something the Gates Foundation does in developing countries.

But there we do it so you can reverse transactions, so you have total visibility of who’s doing what.

“But Bitcoin can go up and down just based on mania. You don’t have a way of predicting how it will progress.”

The video claimed the comments showed that Mr Gates is “clear in his mind” that Bitcoin is a “bubble which will burst”.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has a different opinion on the cryptocurrency.

In February, he announced his company had bought $1.5billion (£1.1bn) worth of Bitcoin.

The announcement led to a flurry of enthusiasm and a quick surge in price for the controversial cryptocurrency.

Express.co.uk does not give financial advice. The journalists who worked on this article do not own Bitcoin.