Overstock To Become First Major Company To Pay State Taxes With Crypto

Overstock may have gotten its start as an eCommerce retail site offering discounted prices, but it didn’t long for its founder and CEO, Patrick Byrne, to recognize the value of cryptocurrencies.  He formed a division of the company, Medici Ventures, that introduces blockchain technologies to existing industries and even launched the tZero alternative trading system, a system that issues securities on the blockchain.  Byrne is so convinced of the future of crypto that he recently announced that Overstock will quit the retail business and concentrate completely on crypto and blockchains. As a further indication of its support for digital currencies, Overstock has announced that it will pay its upcoming business state taxes in Ohio using Bitcoin Core (BTC).  

According to a statement by Byrne, “We are proud to partner with forward-thinking governments and officials like Ohio and Treasurer Mandel to help usher in an era of trust through technology for our nation’s essential financial systems.  We have long thought that thoughtful governmental adoption of emerging technologies such as cryptocurrencies (when accompanied by non-restrictive legislation) is the best way to ensure the US does not lose our place at the forefront of the ever-advancing global economy.”

To that end, Overstock will pay its commercial activity taxes in Ohio next month using BTC.  Byrne calls the blockchain revolution “bigger than anything we’ve seen in history” and Ohio has been leading the charge to increase adoption.  It was the first state to authorize crypto for tax payments and a number of businesses, as well as museums, began accepting BTC at different points last year.  

Some have accused Ohio of nothing more than running a “PR stunt” that has no real value by offering crypto capabilities.  However, the state’s efforts are working and are also being used as a model for other legislations to push for crypto acceptance.  For example, UK Parliament member Eddie Hughes is working to convince the UK government to allow crypto as a form of payment for taxes and uses Ohio’s position as an example of how adoption continues to increase.