This Major US Retailer will Pay Business Taxes using Bitcoin

Overstock has become the first company to pay business taxes using bitcoin, according to the latest announcement.

In November 2018, Ohio State becomes the first state in the United States of America (USA) to allow businesses in Ohio state to register at OhioCrypto.com and pay all kinds of taxes in terms of bitcoin (BTC).

Bitcoin is legal in the US and European Union countries. However, the cryptocurrency remains unrecognized by the Indian government and the Reserve Bank of India has barred Indian banks in dealing with crypto exchanges in the country. This means fiat-to-crypto conversion is not possible in India. However, this is not the case in the USA.

In an official press release, Overstock noted that it will pay its commercial activity taxes (CAT) in Ohio this February using OhioCrypto.com platform. As reported previously, Ohio Ohio State will use BitPay to handle its payments. Bitpay helps in crypto-to-fiat conversion and in this case, it would be bitcoin to USD.

Executive Opinion

Overstock CEO and founder Patrick M. Byrne, said, “We have long thought that thoughtful governmental adoption of emerging technologies such as cryptocurrencies (when accompanied by non-restrictive legislation over these technologies) is the best way to ensure the U.S. does not lose our place at the forefront of the ever-advancing global economy. 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.” 

Ohio State Treasurer, Josh Mandel, said, “We applaud Overstock for becoming the first national brand in America to register to pay taxes via cryptocurrency. Their embrace of blockchain technology was ahead of its time and we’re proud to have them join OhioCrypto.com”.

Overstock's relationship with Crypto

Launched in 2014, Medici Ventures is a wholly owned subsidiary of Overstock.com, Inc. The purpose of Medici Ventures is to leverage blockchain technology to solve real-world problems with transparent, efficient and secure solutions. The company’s majority-owned financial technology company, tZERO, executed the world’s first blockchain-based stock offering in December 2016. The announcement also noted that  Medici Ventures oversees a global portfolio of 19 companies building blockchain and other related technologies.

In September 2018, Medici Ventures said that its portfolio company Bitsy.com has started the limited beta launch of a digital wallet service. The digital wallet service creates a simple, secure, and convenient bridge between traditional fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies.

Overstock started accepting payments in cryptocurrencies and became the first major retailer to do so in 2014.