advertisement

By 2019, Overstock Will Sell Bitcoin Through Its Website via Bitsy Wallet

Overstock.com, a Crypto-friendly online retailer reveals their plan of selling bitcoin through its website formally by the first half of 2019. The retailer is backed by Bitsy, a crypto wallet and portfolio company of Medici Ventures, to enable this service. Medici Ventures is  Overstock’s blockhain-focused subsidiary which currently has investments deployed in 18 separate ventures.

Patrick Byrne, founder, and CEO of Overstock,  in an interview with Forbes, announced the launch of Bitsy’s beta and noted that the aim is to fully integrate the wallet into the Overstock website by early next year. He stated:

“We will be offering this through Overstock,” he said. “Expect us to be offering bitcoin by Q1 or Q2 of next year.”

Byrne compared the current bear market of cryptocurrencies to the turbulence to the early days of the internet and stresses that  Overstock’s commitment to crypto would sail through these short-term woes. He added:

“When you had all these dot-com companies crashing, it wasn’t because something was wrong with the internet technology. Coins are going to come and go, but we’re long-term long on blockchain technology. There’s a parallel universe emerging with crypto, and I see Overstock as the wormhole between the two universes. You’re going to be seeing us bring this to our retail consumer base.”

The Bitsy Wallet

The platform aims to serve as a user-friendly bridge between the fiat and crypto realms. Projected to wrap up its beta test phase toward the end of this year, it plans to incorporate features that will appeal to both crypto purists and novices, such as Overstock’s core customer segment of middle-aged women who may not be tech-savvy.

The hardcore investors could hold actual physical possession of the coins, rather than just a contractual claim to a bitcoin held on an exchange or with another third-party custodian. Byrne explained:

“The whole point of crypto is to have a form of money that no authority could control. This is crypto as crypto is meant to be.”

The key feature is a user-friendly experience that enables users who might be interested in the digital assets but step back due to complexities and computer jargon related to them. Medici’s COO and general counsel, Steve Hopkins said:

We’ve made usability our highest priority. We’ve spent a lot of time really understanding how people who don’t have a computer science background interact with payment applications.”

For one the wallet will integrate biometric security measures such as fingerprint scans and facial recognition to verify the identity. A patent-pending key recovery mechanism will enable the user’s private key to be regenerated in extreme circumstances. Reducing the potential risk of losing one’s holding forever if their phone is destroyed or stolen. Byrne added:

“Bitsy sets a new standard for cryptocurrency wallets. What it’s offering is quite special compared to most wallets in the marketplace.”

Read more: Citigroup, Morgan Stanley’s Roadmap Shows Institutional Demand For Bitcoin is Surging

 

Get Latest Cryptocurrency And Bitcoin News

Signup this form below to get latest Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin news, directly in your mailbox

Note:

Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We try our best to keep things fair and balanced, in order to help you make the best choice for you.