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Patrick Byrne – A blockchain visionary or another unrealistic dreamer?

When it comes to opportune investments and measured risks, Patrick Byrne has already showed the knack for right pickings. He launched Overstock.com in 1999 after leading two small companies one of which now belongs to Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway. The ecommerce giant went to gross revenue of $ 2 Billion per annum, while achieving profitability in 2009. From 2014, Byrne started to take interest in crytpocurrencies and was quick to invade the Blockchain space. In January 2014, Overstock became the first major online retailer to accept Bitcoin. Let’s look into how Patrick Byrne has progressed in the field of Bitcoin and Blockchain:

Overstock and Bitcoin:

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Behind accepting Bitcoin for payment, which took many people in the world of finance by shock, Byrne had strong business reasons. Bryne believed that there were large numbers of holders of bitcoin who were eager to patronize firms that will accept this form of payment, but weren’t able to do so due to limited options. Hence by being the first major online retailer to accept bitcoin, Overstock can tap into a significant group of loyal consumers. Hence as a result, there will be significant growth in the share of the overall market.

Launch of tee-zero:

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Banking on the applications of Blockchain Technology, Byrne launched a securities trading platform. The platform was revealed formally at the headquarters of the major US stock market Nasdaq. During the launch, Byrne advocated that the platform’s surprise element is the Preborrow Assured tokens. He believes that this feature would democratize securities lending. The disruptive idea behind the platform is the entry is both the trade and the settlement; it doesn’t have to be a separate process. This would incredibly speed up the settlement process and that is why major banks have taken keen interest in this platform.

He continued:

“Imagine this ledger is cryptographically protected, public and transparent. Grandma’s money can be turned into US dollar coins and when she buys the catcher’s mitt, we’re wiping out one coin and replacing it on another ledger.”

Blockchain Voting:

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Byrne’s most recent announcement in the direction of blockchain adoption came in the field of democratic elections. Medici Ventures, a blockchain-oriented subsidiary of Overstock.com, has announced it will add SettleMint to its portfolio of investment companies. SettleMint is a Belgium-based fintech firm. It most recently released SettleMint Ballot Box, an application for recording voting on the bitcoin blockchain.

On this particular move, Byrne commented:

“Blockchain is the perfect technology for achieving higher confidence in the democratic process, for everyone.”