Overstock.com Plans To Accept Bitcoin

SonicSpike writes "Overstock plans to become the first big U.S. online retailer to accept Bitcoin, as Patrick Byrne, the company's libertarian chief executive, warms to the virtual currency as a refuge from government control. Mr Byrne told the Financial Times that Overstock planned to start accepting Bitcoin next year – possibly by the end of the second quarter – a decision that he said was driven mainly by his own political philosophy. 'I think a healthy monetary system at the end of the day isn't an upside down pyramid based on the whim of a government official, but is based on something that they can't control,' Mr Byrne said."

Comments

Guesses as to end effect?

[SuperKendall]

It will be really interesting if this creates any stability in the value of bitcoin, or if not how pricing will work with something that can fluctuate in value so wildly... will the company convert BTC to cash right away, or will it keep it for a while before conversion (if ever)?

Re:Guesses as to end effect?

[serviscope_minor]

I think that a very large retailer like that one takes a while to integrate a new payment system. They might also wish to do the trading themselves to avoid paying the fees to the other operators.

But anyway it does show that that the profile of bitcoin is going up.

Re:Time to short OSTK

[Trepidity]

Maybe you're already referencing this, but shorting OSTK makes their CEO very angry.

Re:Time to short OSTK

[Trepidity]

It's also weird to oppose it if you're a libertarian, as Byrne claims to be. A "naked short" is just a contract written against a stock. Why should the government interfere to prevent people from writing such contracts? Requiring that short sellers have the underlying security as "cover" is just a government regulation.