Get out your bitcoin purse! Well, not quite yet — Overstock.com has plans to accept the virtual currency in the second half of 2014.
The online retail store is currently looking into the ins and outs of accepting Bitcoin. Soon you could be buying office chairs and HDTVs with the virtual currency. (Via YouTube / weusecoins)
Bitcoin news blog NewsBTC says the announcement is a huge win for the virtual money.
"An online retailer the magnitude of Overstock surely has the power to become the catalyst in widespread acceptance of the digital currency in the online marketplace."
But is it worth the trouble for the company?
Bitcoin's value is unpredictable — the currency dropped 50 percent in value after BTC China stopped accepting yuan deposits. Because of that, Overstock will have to decide whether to hold on to the currency as-is or liquidate. (Via TechCrunch)
Forbes says: "Overstock.com is likely going to partner with Bitcoin payment processors such as Coinbase or BitPay for the initiative. ... The online retailer will immediately liquidate the digital currency into dollars or find a market to hedge the risk."
According to CNN, Overstock.com's CEO Patrick Byrne is behind the Bitcoin initiative because "he is concerned about the possibility of 'bad currency wars' in the future. He said the U.S. dollar is already being undermined by the Federal Reserve's easy money policies and by overspending by politicians in Washington."
Essentially, Byrne is against fiat currency such as the U.S. dollar — money that's worth what it's worth because the legal body behind the currency says it's legal tender.
Bitcoin, on the other hand, has a fixed amount: 21 million bitcoins. Vice says this value is expected to be reached in 2140.
Regardless of the politics behind the acceptance of Bitcoin, the online retailer only plans to accept Bitcoin if enough customers pay in bitcoin. Will you be one of those customers?
