Overstock's new blockchain chairman Jonathan Johnson hopes to accelerate 'fighting Wall Street'

Rage Comment : Jonathan Johnson, who previously ran for governor of Utah, officially took up the position of chairman of Medici, a subsidiary of Overstock, and began to formally use the underlying technology of Bitcoin, blockchain, to reshape the financial field. He hopes that companies can unite to fight against the manipulation of Wall Street. Medici has been working with regulators to create more options for traditional financial institutions.

Translation: Nicole

The chairman of e-commerce giant Overstock.com was asked to leave a board meeting last month.

Jonathan Johnson has been in leadership roles for a long time, including an unusual stint as CEO of Overstock. Johnson lost his bid for governor of Utah, and now his future at the company rests in the hands of the board.

But the board of directors brought good news and finally decided to let Johnson take over the position of chairman of Overstock's subsidiary Medici, and officially start using Bitcoin's underlying technology blockchain to reshape the financial field.

In his first interview since taking the job, Johnson explained that his goal for the company and blockchain project is not to change the situation that CEO Patrick Byrne became the first major retailer to accept Bitcoin, but to promote it.

Johnson told CoinDesk:

"We should join hands to fight the manipulation of Wall Street. I am not here to change the subject, I am here to bring more attention and help advance the process."

Changing roles

The news comes as no surprise to anyone familiar with Johnson's work.

Johnson became the firm's general counsel in 2002 and was quickly promoted to become the fifth member of its executive team, during which time he helped Byrne combat Wall Street trading practices.

Johnson, who took on the role of Overstock chairman in 2014 when the company first decided to back bitcoin, said his interest in the disruptive potential of blockchain technology has only grown.

As chairman of Medici, Johnson plans to steer the direction of t0 , a blockchain post-trade settlement platform in which Overstock owns 81%.

Johnson will oversee investment management issues at startups including Bitt, which launched a crypto version of the Barbadian dollar earlier this year, and Peernova, a digital record-keeping startup. Overstock has minority stakes in both companies.

While these projects differ significantly from traditional retail, Johnson remains optimistic about the challenges.

Jonathan Johnson

He said:

“I have had several years of experience in the spreadsheet and bread machine industry, but I am very excited to be part of a disruptive company like Medici.”

Changing industries

But Johnson's tenure will ultimately be key to the project.

Medici has been working with regulators to create more options for traditional financial institutions that are adopting the same blockchain technology through pilot projects and proofs of concept.

However, Overstock has been in the lead. In December 2015, the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) approved t0's amended S-3 filing, granting it the right to issue public securities using blockchain technology.

To stay relevant in an ever-changing industry, Johnson said he hopes to continue Byrne's tradition of communicating with SEC Chair Mary Jo White and other regulators.

He said:

"We don't want to build anything, but we also don't want to abandon the power of regulators. I don't want to say we will work closely together, but we will move in that direction."

Big news in that direction could be on the horizon, as Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne told investors earlier this month to expect a “historic” announcement about Medici in September. While Johnson said he wouldn’t elaborate on the nature of the announcement, Byrne told CoinDesk he “can’t wait” to see the company “pull the trigger.”

However, he said Johnson was absolutely the best choice for the project.

Byrne concluded:

“We have been long-term partners, and his joining us seems like a dream.”