Karmaloop CEO and founder Greg Selkoe announced during his keynote speech at a fashion conference in Long Beach yesterday that the locally based e-retail site would begin accepting Bitcoin in the late spring.
The virtual currency is exceptionally volatile and has been known to swing drastically up and down in value. But Karmaloop and other online stores see it as an interesting experiment in outside-the-box business thinking. The details aren’t quite solidified, but Selkoe said that he’s looking to be a leader in a new kind of enterprise and building out some aspects of multi-platform business to be compatible with Bitcoin.
“Our base is a group of the most tech-savvy consumers,” Selkoe told BDCwire, citing the inspiration for the currency experiment. “We have hackers, video gamers, and creative kids in the know. Karmaloop has always been on the cutting edge.”
Karmaloop is following the lead of Overstock.com, which announced today that it has begun accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment, according to Wired.com
While its entry into the mainstream has been rocky, the currency is mostly seen as an innovative way for online consumers to control their virtual spending. Bitcoin is not attached to any one country or central bank, and there is only a limited amount available for trading or buying.
“This is exciting because it’s a universal currency, a totally different approach,” Selkoe said. He added that Bitcoin’s use in internet retail was “long overdue.”
No word on whether either company will accept Coinye West. Kidding, kidding.
