By Monty Sloan | The Houstonian
Overstock.com announced Jan. 9that it would begin accepting the Internet-based currency Bitcoin. A Subway Sandwich in Allentown, Penn., will make a foot-long in exchange for Bitcoins. Travelers can book a flight at Cheapair.com using the new currency.
With Bitcoins, you can even hire Ryan Hurley, a lawyer based out of Scottsdale, Ariz., which is good news for BitInstant CEO Charlie Shrem, who was arrested for allegedly money laundering in conjunction with his Bitcoin-based business.
Bitcoin, darling of basement-dweller netizens everywhere, is a digital peer-to-peer currency introduced in 2009. It is based on open source software and is independent of any government. More specifically Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, meaning that at the currency’s core it is protected using cryptography, which has in the past year gained the attention of market analysts, investors, broke college grads, drug dealers, hitmen and slave traders.
