tZero Announces Plan to Purchase Security Tokens with GSR Capital

In a press release that was published on June 29th a subsidiary of Overstock.com, tZERO, signed a letter of intent to purchase $160 million in tZERO Security tokens with GSR capital, an investment company. GSR capital is based in Beijing and will buy tZero tokens, valued at $10 each, for a total of $160 million in compliance with the Simple Agreement for Future Equity or SAFE. The Security Token Offering is delayed until August 6th to give GSR Capital time to arrange the investment. The announcement also noted that tZERO has already created SAFEs amounting to more than $168 million in Security Tokens, with funding solidified for $95 million already. The sale involved almost 1,000 people from 30 different countries. Founder and CEO of Overstock.com as well as Executive Chairman of tZERO, Patrick Bryne, commented on the announcement, saying that the potential of blockchain was discovered years ago, and tZERO has built itself into a company focused on transparency and efficiency to domestic and foreign capital markets. Security tokens are somewhat of a link between blockchain and the finance sector everyone is used to, but it’s backed by equity, commodities, or shares. The prototype for the platform was released in April with their focus on introducing the concept in a user-friendly and compliant way. Highlighted features in the prototype included a matching engine, risk management software, and an order management system. When the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission began scrutinizing tZERO’s initial coin offering (ICO) shares of Overstock dropped. The report filed by the SEC stated the ICO, which was released in December, was able to raise $100.6 million from over 1,000 investors, with a cap of $250 million total tokens. Before the report, Overstock filed to avoid a traditional securities filing, and instead fall under Regulations D and S. The classification means U.S. citizens must be accredited if they want to invest in the ICO along with the requirement that offshore transactions cannot include citizens of the United States.