Overstock founder and CEO Patrick Byrne, a longstanding bitcoin supporter, recently appeared on FOX Business’ “Mornings with Maria” to explain why he’s bullish on bitcoin. During the interview, Patrick Byrne notably pointed out that it isn’t about how high bitcoin will go, but about how low fiat currency can go, and that “it’s about time the world switches to real money.”
At a time in which bitcoin breaks the $8,000 mark to reach a new all-time high, long-time bitcoin supporter Patrick Byrne, whose company Overstock began accepting bitcoin back in 2014, showed optimism towards cryptocurrencies, while pointing out fiat isn’t really backed by anything. When asked about bitcoin being a bubble, he stated:
“You think that’s a bubble? What do you think that fiat currency you carry around in your purse is? This dollar stuff, it’s just some fiat currency based on … the surplus taxing authority of the U.S. Treasury of which I assert there is zero … It’s about time the world switches to real money. Either gold or bitcoin.”
Overstock was one of the first major retailers to accept bitcoin, and at the time processed $124,000 in bitcoin orders in the first 21 hours. Other major retailers, including Expedia, Dish Network, and Starbucks – through the Fold app – now accept the cryptocurrency. However, various Wall Street executives don’t believe in the cryptocurrency’s value.
Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffet recently stated bitcoin was a “real bubble,” while JP Morgan’s chief executive Jamie Dimon labeled it a “fraud” and added he would fire any of his employees trading bitcoin.
Speaking to FOX Business, Byrne took a different approach, and didn’t make it all about bitcoin, but about fiat:
“The real question is not how high can bitcoin go. The real question is how low can fiat currency go—and at the end of the day all fiat currencies have gone to zero and that’s because they end up with irresponsible money printing.”
FOX Business pointed out that Saudi Prince Alwaleed predicted that bitcoin would implode, but neglected to mention that the bitcoin-bashing Prince was arrested for money laundering earlier this month.
During the interview, Byrne even pointed out that 80-100 years ago the amount of dollars needed to buy an ounce of gold was much, much smaller. In response, he was told that “gold is irrelevant in our lives,” as one of the interviewers neglected the underlying point that the dollar is its losing value.
Byrne further stated that the dollar may have lost all of its value just yet, but added that gold and bitcoin are something that governments can’t control, and as such the cryptocurrency may be headed to a million per coin:
“We have all these currencies since Bretton Woods, fluctuating against each other, and maybe the dollar hasn’t gone to zero against these currencies but all of them have gone down 95% … versus something that they can’t control like … gold and bitcoin. So bitcoin may be on its way to a million for all we know.”
Here’s the video of Patrick’s interview on “Morning with Maria:”
Overstock’s Long-Lasting Bitcoin Support
As mentioned above, Overstock started accepting bitcoin back in 2014, but it didn’t stop there as throughout the years the company continued to support the cryptocurrency ecosystem. It early on announced it would donate 4% of its bitcoin revenue to organizations promoting bitcoin adoption, and in 2015 gave its staff the option of being paid in the cryptocurrency.
Earlier this year, the company announced it would accept 40 different altcoins including Litecoin, Dash, and NEM, and that it planned on holding 50% of what it receives as an investment.
The company and Patrick Byrne, its chief executive, have also been known for standing up for bitcoin. Earlier this year, a company executive stated it was crazy that retailers still don’t accept bitcoin, while back in September, while speaking on Jamie Dimon’s comments and China’s crackdown, Byrne notably stated “they’re all afraid of bitcoin.” Last month, CCN reported that the company’s shares surged 30% following the announcement of a $500 million ICO.