Overstock: We will publicly issue blockchain securities

Rage Commentary : The use of blockchain to issue securities may change the landscape of global asset issuance. As one of the world's earliest large retailers to accept Bitcoin, Overstock will also be one of the pioneers in issuing securities on the blockchain. Through smart contracts, smart securities (programmable securities) will be established for the first time, achieving a huge leap in the securities industry. The company's CEO Patrick M said that blockchain technology will subvert the way the government functions and further ensure that the government represents the interests of the majority of citizens. As early as 2015, the company obtained permission from the SEC to issue digital stocks on a distributed ledger; the company is currently working with the world's largest trading agent Computershare and its subsidiary Georgeson Inc, the world's largest stock market strategic information provider, to prepare for the issuance of securities on the blockchain. Through smart contracts, smart securities (programmable securities) will be established for the first time.

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Patrick M. Byrne

Overstock CEO Patrick M. Byrne spoke to Cointelegraph at the Currency 20/20 Europe conference, where he expressed his views on the first public sale of securities recorded on a distributed blockchain ledger and how smart contracts will upend the relationship between governments and citizens.

Last Thursday, Overstock announced that it had entered into an agreement with Georgeson Inc to serve as information agent for a planned public offering of blockchain-based securities.

CoinTelegraph: How would you describe smart contracts and what is the prospect of smart contracts?

Patrick Byrne:

When I heard about smart contracts, I thought of a quote from Warren Buffett that if something is not done well, it is not worth doing. I really didn't see the use case for smart contracts at the time, nor did I see the real problem with our existing system. However, I realize that I was short-sighted at the time, and the most disruptive outcome brought about by smart contracts may be to disrupt many government businesses. In short, the government is an institution created by citizens, and it has always been in contact with citizens and performed some duties and functions. Now we can reduce many of the obligations of the government through blockchain. This may be the biggest use of smart contracts. For example, in the United States, we have Congress, which supposedly represents the will of the people and decides how much to spend on the navy every year, and then takes that money from the economy and ultimately spends it on the navy. If we have a digital or blockchain economy, you can specify a program to add 4% of each transaction to the national treasury, which means that we collectively decide how much budget should be allocated to the navy through a social mechanism. In this way, the decisions made by the government will more accurately reflect the will of the people, but the government will hinder it. This business model will be opposed by Congress. We can say that the existing contracts that smart contracts disrupt are actually contracts between governments and citizens. If smart contracts are adopted, it will bring huge anti-corruption effects.

CT: Can you tell us about your vision for the future of your company - what can we expect from you in the blockchain community? What surprises will you bring to us in the future?

PB:

Three weeks ago, we announced that we were going to develop a public sale of securities, we were doing a rights offering. A week or two ago, we announced that Comptuershare, the world's largest trading agent, had joined our project. Now another well-known, prestigious market participant has joined us to issue blockchain securities. You will see other well-known companies join the issuance of blockchain securities in the coming weeks.

Pioneer in blockchain securities

The company’s publicist later confirmed that Georgeson Inc will serve as information agent for Overstock’s blockchain securities offering.

Georgeson Inc is one of the world's leading providers of shareholder intelligence, communications and proxy services. The company, a subsidiary of Computershare, was named Proxy Services Company of the Year at the Proxy Services Company Annual Meeting on June 30, 2014.

Overstock is one of the pioneers in blockchain securities issuance. (Overstock's majority-owned subsidiary) t0 focuses on the development of Internet finance based on blockchain technology. In June 2015, Overstock became the first company to publicly issue private securities using blockchain technology. In December 2015, the SEC announced that Overstock's S-3 filing was valid, allowing Overstock to issue digital stocks on a distributed ledger. Patrick Byrne has always been a staunch supporter of Bitcoin, and Overstock accepted Bitcoin as early as January 2014, becoming one of the earliest large retailers to accept Bitcoin.