Overstock boss preps big bet on blockchain

Patrick Byrne, Founder and CEO of Overstock, is looking to sell the retail arm of his company in the next few months and devote his time to blockchain projects, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Overstock’s blockchain subsidiary Medici Ventures lost $22 million in 2017, while in the first nine months of 2018 it burnt through $39 million. Overstock also racked up a net loss of $163 million in the first three quarters of this year.

But Byrne insists he “doesn’t care whether tZero [one of the ventures backed by Medici] is losing $2 million a month. We think we’ve got cold fusion on the blockchain side”.

Minds

Last month, crypto social network, Minds, landed a $6 million Series A investment from Medici Ventures.

“There has been increasing excitement in recent years over the power of blockchain technology to liberate individuals and organisations,” said Byrne. “Minds’ work employing blockchain technology as a social media application is the next great innovation toward mainstream use of this world-changing technology.”

Minds recently launched the $MINDS crypto token on the Ethereum mainnet, as a way for users to boost their content, subscribe to media subscriptions and access exclusive content. The tokens can also be earned for engagement received on the platform.