Overstock Wins SEC's Nod To Upend How Companies Issue Shares
- SEC to let Overstock issue digital stock via blockchain
- Aim is to speed up settlements and validation of transactions
Overstock.com Inc. has a plan to refashion how companies go public and dole out shares in secondary offerings. The online discounter moved a step closer when its strategy of using bitcoin-based technology won permission last week from the top U.S. securities regulator.
The idea, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, is to issue company stock using blockchain, the underlying software that governs how bitcoins work. Essentially, the blockchain is a public ledger that records all transactions for whatever instrument it supports, be it a virtual cryptocurrency or company stock. While Salt Lake City-based Overstock is an online retailer, Chief Executive Officer Patrick Byrne has embraced bitcoin with gusto, accepting payments on the Web store and speaking frequently on the topic.