Overstock.com, which started accepting Bitcoin for Payments in January, may soon accept Litecoin, according to an interview between Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne and Bloomberg Businessweek. Said Byrne on Litecoin:
“It’s time I start looking hard at it...We certainly want to be always at the forefront of accepting such currencies.”
The acceptance of Litecoin can be a natural next step for any company already accepting Bitcoin. If the company itself is holding the coins, it is not hard to have the systems modified to cater for both. Systems can be easily tailored to be "currency-agnostic", as discussed in interviews with Coinkite and GoCoin, especially when the coins in question are all based off the same protocol. This can well be worth it if it sparks even a moderate increase in sales.
If facilitated through an external vendor, it is equally plausible. However, Overstock's current Bitcoin integration is facilitated via Coinbase, who doesn't yet support Litecoin. It may take time for this to happen, as Charles Lee, Litecoin's creator, pointed out last month:
"Coinbase does not have a "there can only be one" mentality like a few other Bitcoin companies. But it won't be beneficial for me to push Litecoin until Coinbase is ready. But given that they hired me, it's pretty much a given that I will make it happen eventually."
He goes on to cite the relative scarcity of non-"anonymous" LTC/USD exchanges, potential confusion and diverted resources from other important projects as reasons why it may not be the best choice right now.
Byrne now expects $10-15 million of total sales this year ($1.3 billion totaled last year) to come through Bitcoin- up from the $5 million previously estimated.
