????網絡零售商Overstock.com在線銷售的商品從床上用品到餐具不一而足。最近，這家公司宣布將從明年六月開始接受比特幣支付，成為美國首家接受這種虛擬貨幣的零售商。雖然比特幣仍在試驗階段，但它的價值卻已經從一月份的13美元飆升至十二月份的1,200多美元。

????雖然比特幣的價值在持續飆升，但Overstock CEO帕特里克?拜恩表示，接受比特幣支付的計劃并不代表公司認定這種貨幣的價值會再次暴漲。

????本周一，《財富》雜志（Fortune）電話采訪了位于猶他州辦公室的拜恩。拜恩因災難預言而為人熟知，而且，他和前美國國會議員、自由主義者羅恩?保羅意見一致。羅恩?保羅認為，美國應該重新實行金本位，同時撤銷美聯儲（Federal Reserve）。

????拜恩認為比特幣可以作為支付系統的有力補充，但他自己對這種貨幣的態度卻非常復雜。下面是這次采訪的內容摘要：

????《財富》：你本人持有比特幣嗎？

????帕特里克?拜恩：沒有。我持有黃金。

????真的嗎，你持有多少黃金？

????很多。這么說吧，就算哪天地球上僵尸橫行，我也有足夠的黃金照顧好我和我的家人。

????希望所謂的僵尸只是在開玩笑。我們還是回到比特幣的話題吧。你自己計劃購買比特幣嗎？

????我沒有投資比特幣。我只是說我們會接受比特幣支付。我對它的價值也沒有任何看法。我甚至不知道除了每天查詢之外，怎么去確定它的價值，以及它目前的交易價格。Overstock接受比特幣并不代表我們公司認定這種貨幣的價值會再次暴漲。我們不會持有任何比特幣，我們只是把它作為一種交易的媒介。

????但很明顯你是比特幣的擁護者。原因何在？

????既有商業上的原因，也有哲學上的原因。首先是商業方面的原因：我認為會有一定數量的消費者希望能夠使用比特幣購物。他們喜歡這種貨幣的匿名性。到目前為止，市場上僅有一些黑市網站，比如Silk Road。此外，使用比特幣交易可以為我們節省大約2%的兌換費用。我們目前的凈利潤大約是2%，這已經不是什么秘密。所以，所節省的交換費將實質性地改善公司的盈虧狀況。

????至于哲學上的原因：我是奧地利經濟學派（Austrian School of Economics）的支持者，我們討厭法定貨幣。所有法定貨幣的長期價值都是零。如果你相信有限政府，那么你所希望的貨幣體系將不再是政府官員大筆一揮就能創造貨幣的體系。黃金是一種解決方案，但我們沒辦法在短時間內重新回歸金本位。我們也不可能很快撤銷美聯儲，所以比特幣是向正確方向邁出的一步。

????Overstock.com, which sells everything from bedding to dinnerware online, recently announced it would accept bitcoin as early as June, making it the first U.S. retailer to use the virtual currency. Still in its experimental phase, bitcoin has fluctuated from as low as $13 in January to more than $1,200 in December.

????And while it has had a wild ride, Overstock's (OSTK) plans to accept bitcoin as payment shouldn't be read as another bet that the currency will soar higher, says CEO Patrick Byrne.

????Fortune caught up with Byrne over telephone on Monday from his office in Utah. The executive is known to be a doomsdayer, siding with the likes of former libertarian U.S. Congressman Ron Paul, who has argued that the U.S. should return to the gold standard and that the Federal Reserve should be abolished.

????Byrne thinks bitcoin could be a helpful addition to the payment system, but even he has mixed feelings about the currency. Here's an edited version of our chat:

????Fortune: Do you own any bitcoins?

????Patrick Byrne: No. I own gold.

????Really, how much gold?

????A lot. Let's just say enough that if zombies walked the Earth I will have enough gold that me and mine are taken care of.

????I hope you're kidding about the zombies, but let's get back to bitcoin. Do you plan to buy any for yourself?

????I'm not investing in bitcoin. I'm just saying we'll accept it. I don't have any opinions on its value, and I don't even know how one would go about finding that out beyond just looking it up everyday and what it's trading at. Overstock accepting bitcoin shouldn't be read as an endorsement or a view that the value of it is going to go up. We're not going to be holding any bitcoin -- it's just a medium of exchange.

????But you're obviously a bitcoin fan. Why?

????There are business and philosophical reasons. First, the business reason: I think there are a legitimate number of consumers who want to be able to shop with bitcoin. They like the anonymity of the currency. So far, the market has only served them with shady websites, like Silk Road. Also, it saves us about 2% from interchange fees. It's no secret that our net margin is about 2% now. And so the savings would be a very substantial improvement to our bottom line.

????As far as the philosophical reason: I am from the Austrian School of Economics, which means we're the guys who hate fiat money. The long-run value of all fiat money is zero. If you believe in limited government, you want to have a monetary system that is based on something where no government mandarin can just create money with a stroke of a pen. Gold is a solution, we're not going to bring back the gold standard any time soon. We're not going to get rid of the Federal Reserve any time soon, so bitcoin is a step in the right direction.