About 10% of received investments came from blockchain-emitted shares. A bulk of funding was provided by existing company’s shareholders.

The investment round was divided into two parallel series. Series A took place on the proprietary t0 (t-zero) blockchain trading platform developed by the Overstock’s subsidiary Medici. Overall, 126,565 blockchain-emitted shares have been sold for $1.9 million or $15.68 per share.

Series B offering was done using traditional methods, with 569,333 shares sold.

Unlike traditional exchanges where post-trading operations can cause a delay of up to three days, a blockchain platform permits to settle transactions almost instantly.

“In doing so, we have demonstrated to the world that there is indeed a path toward applying blockchain technology to capital markets in a way that complies with regulatory requirements and is accessible and practical for both issuers and investors. In the process, we raised a meaningful amount of capital, which Overstock can use to continue fueling our growth,” says Johnathan Johnson, Medici president and Overstock’s chairman of the board.

Earlier, Overstock announced plans to sell as many as 2 million shares and reach $30 million investment goal.

Presently, the distributed platform t0 only allows trading Overstock shares, but the company claims in the near future it will become customisable to sell other kinds of digital assets.

In December 2015, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) permitted Overstock to issue securities via blockchain – for the first time in history. Besides, Overstock was the first major online retailer to start accepting bitcoins for payment.

Elena Platonova