Overstock blockchain subsidiary buys into Bankorus

US online retailer Overstock’s subsidiary, Medici Ventures, has acquired a 5.1% stake in blockchain banking platform Bankorus.

“The addition of Bankorus to our portfolio of companies will further our work in building the foundation of a blockchain-based technology stack for society,” says Jonathan Johnson, President at Medici Ventures. “Bankorus has built a revolutionary blockchain banking platform that dovetails nicely with Medici Ventures’ goals of eliminating middlemen, democratising capital, and rehumanising commerce by helping individuals access and control their own digital assets.”

Medici Ventures has invested in a number of blockchain projects, further info on which can be found here. Late last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that Patrick Byrne, Founder and CEO of Overstock, was looking to sell the retail arm of his company and devote his time to the much hyped technology.

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 last year. But Byrne insisted he “didn’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”.