Patrick Byrne Keynote Address at Bitcoin 2014

The Amsterdam Bitcoin 2014 conference has begun! Patrick Byrne, the CEO of Overstock, commenced the event with a keynote address to over 1,000 attendees. Byrne used key historical figures to explain why he appreciates and backs the virtual currencies. Byrne commented,

“As much as I love bitcoin, I am all about the crypto revolution.”

The Bitcoin 2014 conference is an event that is annually organized by the Bitcoin Foundation. Jon Matonis, the Executive Director of the Bitcoin Foundation stated that next year’s conference may take place in Asia.

Patrick Byrne Address Bitcoin

Patrick Byrne made the headlines last year when he announced that his company Overstock.com would start accepting Bitcoin for payment. He said,

“I said maybe by the end of 2014 [we would accept bitcoin]. I said it off the top off my head, but that mention started appearing in newspapers around the world.”

In a previous interview, Patrick Byrne explained that 40 people were stuck together in a room in order for Overstock.com to quickly adapt the Bitcoin payment system.

In the question and answer session for the conference, Byrne said that he has plans of listing Overstock on “a block chain kind of a stock exchange.” He also mentioned that his company is looking at the possibility of dual listing on NASDAQ and another stock exchange. Patrick Byrne explained his plan,

“We could either issue securities in bitcoin and translate those and collect funds in dollars. I am less interested in that than just taking it and listing it and maybe even creating a new security and issuing it through such an exchange. Or we could take our security, which is already publicly registered and publicly traded and just get it dual listed on somebody’s technology.”

More information regarding this will be announced in the next few months.

When Overstock first began accepting Bitcoin, critics believed that Patrick Byrne had done so to gain publicity. Byrne addressed this issue in the Bitcoin 2014 keynote when he said,

“A lot of people suggested that I got involved in bitcoin for the publicity. I hope my talk today has dispelled this.”

The full schedule of events and speakers for Bitcoin 2014 can be found here.

Image Overstock