Shares in Overstock (NASDAQ:OSTK) moved higher today following a much anticipated Q2 earnings call yesterday after market close that provided not only operational guidance but added perspective on the emerging blockchain based segment of the business.
In an extended call, Overstock founder Patrick Byrne shed light on progress at tZero and their numerous other blockchain projects. Not one for mincing words, Byrne stated in a letter to investors;
“tZERO is a leader in the emerging field of Security Tokens. Briefly, Security Tokens are smart contracts embedded within blockchains that represent fractional ownership of assets. Collectively, there is the better part of a quadrillion dollars of fractional ownership around the globe represented in various securities instruments: approximately $73 trillion in stocks, $215 trillion in debt, and $217 trillion in real estate, for example. In the eyes of an increasing number of people, Security Tokens are disruptive to all these instruments and the ecosystems around them because the technology of Security Tokens provides a more secure, efficient, and transparent way to represent fractional ownership in assets.”
Byrne and his team clearly expressed their intent to become a multinational issuer and trading platform of digital assets. tZero expects to commence trading at some point later in 2018 as their partnership with BOX, a registered exchange, takes hold. Additionally, management said they had been approached by numerous firms seeking to trade on the tZero platform – an event that is expected to occur at some point in the near future.
A significant investment was also announced by GSR Capital based in Hong Kong.
Overstock, which owns Medici Ventures, the majority shareholder of tZero, has benefitted by the rising interest in blockchain or distributed ledger technology and the hope that this tech can transform the securities industry as well as other sectors. Shares of tZero traded around 20% than previous days close.
