Overstock.com
| Overstock.com | |
| |
| Founded | 1999 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Key People | Jonathan E. Johnson III, Interim CEO; Patrick M. Byrne, Founder and ex-CEO |
| Employees | 1700 |
| Products | Online home goods retailer; TZERO and Medici Ventures |
| @Overstock | |
| Profile | |
| overstock | |
| Website | Overstock.com |
| Releases | Company News |
Overstock.com is an online business that primarily sells surplus wholesale products to retail customers.
Overview
Under the leadership of its founder, blockchain enthusiast Patrick Byrne, Overstock.com owns and operates tZERO and Medici Ventures in addition to being a tech-focused online retailer. Overstock.com is a publicly-traded company whose largest shareholder is Byrne with a 20.2% holding.[1]
Overstock.com was one of the first retailers to accept bitcoin as payment by customers for goods.[2]
With its focus on blockchain technology and bitcoin, Overstock.com shares suffered as the prices for cryptocurrencies receded throughout 2018 losing 21% of their value by August, well before the markets-wide fourth-quarter share price rout.[3]
In September 2018, Byrne told Forbes in an interview that Overstock.com would begin selling bitcoin on its website early the next year using the new Bitsy wallet. Bitsy, which is designed for easy use by Overstock.com's non-tech-savvy customer base, is owned by Medici Ventures.[4]
In November 2018 Byrne told the Wall Street Journal that he has been planning to sell Overstock's retail business, leaving the company with Medici Ventures and tZERO.[5]
On January 3, 2019, the company announced to its investors that it would pay some of its ongoing business taxes in Ohio through that state's first in the nation crypto-payments service, OhioCrypto.com.[6]
Byrne steps down
Byrne stepped down from his roles as CEO and board member of Overstock.com in August 2019 after confirming that he had been in an at times romantic relationship with Maria Butina, a Russian national accused of spying but convicted of a lesser crime.[7]
Byrne's successor, Jonathan Johnson, said publicly that he intended to continue Byrne's pursuit of furthering the blockchain arm of his business. When asked about his attitude towards cryptocurrency, Johnson said, "not only have I drunk the Kool-Aid, I'm drunk on the Kool-Aid."[8]
References
- ↑ Overstock’s Founder Bets on Blockchain, Not Bedsheets. Wall Street Journal.
- ↑ Overstock is turning into a bitcoin tech company. CNN.
- ↑ Overstock Loses 21 Percent of Market Value as Crypto Craze Fades. Bloomberg.
- ↑ Overstock To Sell Bitcoin Through Its Website In 2019 With Bitsy Wallet. Forbes.
- ↑ Overstock’s Founder Bets on Blockchain, Not Bedsheets. Wall Street Journal.
- ↑ Overstock Will Pay Some of Its 2019 Taxes in Bitcoin. CoinDesk.
- ↑ Patrick Byrne, Overstock C.E.O., Resigns After Disclosing Romance With Russian Agent. New York Times.
- ↑ Don’t Worry, Overstock’s New CEO Is Already ‘Drunk on Bitcoin’s Kool-Aid’. Coindesk.
