Overstock CEO Teases 'Historic' Blockchain Announcement

Newly back from a leave of absence, Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne is already promising big blockchain news ahead.

Addressing a group of investors during a Q2 earnings call today, Byrne spoke about Overstock subsidiary Medici, the division of the online retailer developing the post-trade blockchain project tØ.

Byrne said:

"You’ll see a historic announcement in the weeks ahead. If all goes well, about four-ish weeks from now."

Elsewhere, Byrne discussed how the company might monetize its blockchain R&D efforts and related investments.

Notably, Byrne said the company is open to all manner of ideas, including licensing its technologies, introducing paid products and even outsourcing its team for use by outside investors.

Overstock was one of the first online marketplaces to begin accepting bitcoin, and has since taken a leadership role adopting the digital currency’s blockchain to streamline Wall Street’s post-trade services.

Also on the call today Byrne reported revenue of $418.5m for Q2 2016, an 8% increase over the same quarter last year.

Pete Rizzo contributed reporting.