Overstock Is Preparing to Launch a Record-Breaking $500 Million ICO 🚨 This article is 7 years old...
Overstock Is Preparing to Launch a Record-Breaking $500 Million ICO
3 min read
Updated: Nov. 16, 2017 at 4:27 pm UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Online retail juggernaut Overstock has long been a proponent of cryptocurrencies. Their online platform was one of the first to accept Bitcoin as a payment option, and they are ancillary investors in the cryptocurrencies that they collect.
However, at last week’s Money 20/20 conference in Las Vegas, Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne announced that the company would be making a direct foray into the crypto-universe with the launch of an ICO through its subsidiary tØ. Byrne’s statement sent Overstock shares skyrocketing more than 30%, and it laid the groundwork for what’s expected to be the most well-funded ICO in history.
tØ is a recently formed subsidiary of Overstock that is, according to Axios, “the first SEC-compliant exchange for companies to trade digital tokens.”
Overstock’s ICO will fund this project, which is being led in conjunction with two other companies. Byrne and the wider investment world is predicting an ICO in excess of $500 million, a noteworthy number that is almost double the previous ICO record set by FileCoin earlier this year.
Overstock Chief Executive Officer Patrick Byrne said in a statement Tuesday:
“Three years ago I stood up in front of an audience for the opening keynote speech at Bitcoin 2014, in Amsterdam, and told the world that the main event of bitcoin is not bitcoin, it is the blockchain, and it would change the world.”
tØ’s inception is the direct result of two dueling forces: the unprecedented rise in ICO fundraising campaigns and the need for oversight and protection in this area. The SEC has expressed an interest in regulating the ICO market, and several countries, including China, have already banned ICOs until a regulatory system can be established.
By creating an exchange with virtual currencies that can be regulated, tØ is embracing a legally secure capital raising format that is far outpacing traditional venture capital initiatives.
Bryne told Axios that he sees regulated ICOs as the capital-raising mechanism of the future that can allow companies to quickly fund projects and even buy back stock shares. Moreover, as a regulated security, ICO backers can earn a percentage of profits much like they do from traditional stock sales.
While it’s known for being forward-thinking in its payment systems, Overstock’s primary business is much more traditional.
They sell discounted merchandise from their online-only store, so the development of an investment platform seems to be a significantly different brand approach. Byrne acknowledged this disparity, and he floated the idea that Overstock and tØ may ultimately require a split. He’s expressed interested in running the crypto aspect of Overstock, but he has not ruled out overseeing both projects.
tØ reflects Overstock Inc.’s continued investment in blockchain and cryptocurrencies. The company is already holding half of its Bitcoin payments as an investment, and they have expanded their payment options to include a more diverse array of cryptocurrencies.
As Bryne told Bloomberg,
“All stock securities will eventually become tokens.”
With tØ, they are attaching their resources and their reputation to the rise and sustainability of cryptocurrencies, and they may be establishing the platform that begins transitioning companies from the stock market to the tokenized ecosystem.
Posted In: Crypto
