SALT LAKE CITY , Dec. 18, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Medici Ventures, the leading blockchain accelerator and subsidiary of Overstock.com, Inc., has conducted a digital securities token transfer representing its equity ownership in Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based Chainstone Labs. The digital security was issued by Chainstone Labs to Medici Ventures using the Ravencoin blockchain.
The transaction was broadcast in real-time to show the simplicity of transferring equity using tokens as digital securities. Ravencoin is an open-source, public blockchain built to help users create and manage tokens and digital assets such as securities.
A video of the transaction can be viewed here: LINK TO VIDEO.
The Chainstone digital security token is one of the first equity tokens issued using a public blockchain and is believed to be the first major security token issued on the Ravencoin network. Ravencoin was announced on October 31, 2017 and launched as a network on January 3, 2018. Ravencoin has been able to support the issuance of tokens since November 5, 2018. Medici Ventures is an active supporter of Ravencoin, an open-source project dedicated to the creation and peer-to-peer transfer of assets.
Chainstone Labs is a startup focused on digital securities and decentralized asset management. The company, founded by CEO Bruce Fenton, owns Atlantic Financial, a full-service investment firm and the Satoshi Roundtable, a leading invitation-only gathering of industry members.
“It is natural that since we focus on securities tokens that we have a digital security for the equity in our own company. The ease of moving digital securities has the potential to change the way the global economy works. Medici Ventures has the operational expertise to help us pursue this market,” said Fenton, who is also on the board of both Medici Ventures and tZERO, another Medici Ventures portfolio company. “Ravencoin is an ideal protocol and chain to use for this security token. The aim of Ravencoin is to do one thing and do it well: help users issue tokens and digital assets securely. Tokens, particularly securities tokens, are a promising area for blockchain technology.”
“Chainstone Labs shares the same vision of Medici Ventures: blockchain is the future and using it to make transactions faster, more secure, and completely transparent will change the world,” said Jonathan Johnson, president of Medici Ventures. “Our mission is to use blockchain to democratize capital, eliminate the middleman, and re-humanize commerce. We believe our equity purchase in Chainstone Labs is a huge step forward in that mission as Chainstone will help change the landscape of the global economy.”
Medici Ventures purchased a 29 percent stake in Chainstone Labs for $3.6 million. This equity purchase was first disclosed in the Q3 2018 earnings reporting of Medici Ventures’ parent company Overstock.com, Inc. on November 9, 2018. The equity token is not offered to the public.
About Overstock.com
Overstock.com, Inc Common Shares (NASDAQ:OSTK) / Series A Preferred (Medici Ventures’ tZERO platform: OSTKP) / Series B Preferred (OTCQX:OSTBP) is an online retailer and technology company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It’s leading e-commerce website sells a broad range of new products at low prices, including furniture, décor, rugs, bedding, home improvement, jewelry, and more. The online shopping site, which is visited by nearly 40 million customers a month, also features a marketplace providing customers access to millions of products from third-party sellers. Overstock was the first major retailer to accept cryptocurrency in 2014, and in the same year founded Medici Ventures, its wholly-owned subsidiary developing and accelerating blockchain technologies to democratize capital, eliminate middlemen, and re-humanize commerce. Overstock regularly posts information about the company and other related matters on the Newsroom and Investor Relations pages on its website, Overstock.com.
About Medici Ventures:
Launched in 2014, Medici Ventures is a wholly owned subsidiary of Overstock.com, Inc., created to leverage blockchain technology to solve real-world problems with transparent, efficient and secure solutions. Medici Ventures has a growing portfolio of groundbreaking blockchain-focused investments. The company’s majority-owned financial technology company, tZERO, executed the world’s first blockchain-based stock offering in December 2016.
About Chainstone Labs:
Chainstone Labs is a Portsmouth, NH-based stealth mode financial technology company focused on digital securities. Chainstone Labs owns Atlantic Financial, an investment and advisory company focused on decentralized asset management. Chainstone Labs also owns the Satoshi Roundtable, an invitation-only industry event.
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This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements include all statements other than statements of historical fact. Additional information regarding factors that could materially affect results and the accuracy of the forward-looking statements contained herein may be found in the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2018, which was filed with the SEC on November 9, 2018, and any subsequent filings with the SEC.
SOURCE: Overstock.com, Inc.
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