

Overstock Files to Offer Stock That Works Like Bitcoin - kposehn
http://www.wired.com/2015/04/overstock-files-offer-stock-works-like-bitcoin/

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chkuendig
Wired is very vague and doesnt link any sources. This is the actual filing:
[http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1130713/0001047469150...](http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1130713/000104746915003890/a2224281zs-3.htm)
(
[http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1130713/0001047469150...](http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1130713/000104746915003890/0001047469-15-003890-index.htm)
for all documents )

Edit: From what I understand they basically want to launch a proprietary
crypto-currency as a mean to raise money. I don't think they even specify
whether this is supposed to be debt or equity.

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jackgavigan
I interpret this filing as Overstock initiating a dialogue with the SEC about
whether the SEC will authorise the issuance of securities that will be traded
on an alternative trading system[1] (as opposed to a traditional stock
exchange like NASDAQ) and whose ownership will be recorded on a blockchain[2]
(as opposed to a traditional, centralised clearing and settlement process,
such as the Depository Trust Company).

The reason they haven't specified whether it will be debt or equity is because
they have opted to list all the possible types of securities (six in total),
presumably to see what the SEC's reaction is.

Basically, they're asking for permission to do everything, to see what the
SEC's response is. If the SEC approves the application, happy days! However,
it's far more likely that there will be a lot of back-and-forth before the SEC
makes a decision.

To my knowledge, this is the first time anyone has formally filed to get SEC
approval for crypto-issuance of securities. IANAL but I would expect that the
SEC's response will set a _de facto_ precedent (but not a _de jure_ one). In
other words (and at the risk of adding a bit of hype), this could be a small
but significant step towards reshaping our financial system and reducing the
power of Wall Street.

1:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_trading_system](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_trading_system)

2: Or, as Overstock describes them, "digital securities, meaning the
securities will be uncertificated securities, the ownership and transfer of
which are recorded on a cryptographically-secured distributed ledger system
using technology similar to (or the same as) the distributed ledger technology
used for trading digital currencies".

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sanswork
Is there a reason the Overstock board hasn't reined Byrne in on his
cryptocurrency push given that it's basically been an 18 month long failure
that he keeps throwing money after?

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davidgerard
> Overstock’s free-thinking CEO, Patrick Byrne

"free thinking": business speak for "fucking nuts, but inexplicably keeps
making money, just."

I believe there were recommendations that Overstock shunt all the lunacy over
to a spinoff company run by Byrne and get someone not insane to run the
actually profitable business.

