The CEO of Overstock.com, an online shopping site and a pioneer of commercial bitcoin transactions, has purchased the world’s first cryptobond for $500,000.
The company already has plans to work with qualified institutional buyers to sell a total of $25 million worth of digital bonds to trade on a crytograhpically-protected distributed ledger, using the technology that underpins bitcoin transactions.
Commenting on his decision to be the world’s first buyer, Patrick Byrne said: “I intend to demonstrate my belief not just in Overstock, but in the TØ.com platform that we built and, indeed, in the cryptorevolution itself.”
He added that he had a burning desire to own the “first ever cryptosecurity ever issued”.
“Cryptotechnology can do for the capital market what the internet has done for consumers,” Byrne stated.
Twenty-five TIGRcub crypto bonds will be issued each as a $1 million digital token, available only to fully qualified, institutional buyers.
The new bonds will be the first issued using an institutional-ready platform and with a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing
Trading on the Overstock platform will be completed within 1 day rather than a customary 3 day used on Wall Street and according to Byrne, issuing the bonds on the platform proves that cryptotechnology can allow “transparent and secure access to capital by emerging companies”.
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