World's First Cryptobond Has First BuyerPublished: June 8, 2015 8:00 a.m. ET
Overstock.com CEO Makes Historic Purchase of a Digital Bond Issued on Bitcoin's Blockchain
SALT LAKE CITY, Jun 08, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE via COMTEX) --
Overstock.com, Inc. OSTK, +2.27% announced its CEO Patrick M. Byrne today made the first purchase of the world's first cryptobond for $500,000. Working with other qualified institutional buyers, the company intends to sell a total of $25 million in digital bonds to trade on a cryptographically-protected distributed ledger – the same technology that underlies cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.
"It's not exactly Jonas Salk injecting himself with his polio vaccine, but I wanted to own the first cryptosecurity ever issued," stated Byrne. "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."
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TØ.com is powered by the blockchain and the Open Assets protocol.
Those who purchase cryptobonds through TØ.com will be able to track their ownership on the bitcoin blockchain. Trades on TØ.com securely settle same day, as opposed to the customary three day settlement on Wall Street (referred to as "T+3"). According to Byrne, issuing the TIGRcub bonds on the TØ.com platform proves that cryptotechnology can facilitate transparent and secure access to capital by emerging companies.
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http://www.marketwatch.com/story/worlds-first-cryptobond-has-first-buyer-2015-06-08 Overstock just opened up the bond market:
The bond market (also debt market or credit market) is a financial market where participants can issue new debt, known as the primary market, or buy and sell debt securities, known as the secondary market. This is usually in the form of bonds, but it may include notes, bills, and so on.
Its primary goal is to provide long-term funding for public and private expenditures. The bond market has largely been dominated by the United States, which accounts for about 44% of the market.[1]
As of 2009, the size of the worldwide bond market (total debt outstanding) is an estimated at $82.2 trillion,[2]
of which the size of the outstanding U.S. bond market debt was $31.2 trillion according to Bank for International Settlements (BIS),
or alternatively $35.2 trillion as of Q2 2011 according to Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA).[2]
Nearly all of the average daily trading in the U.S. bond market takes place between broker-dealers and large institutions in a decentralized over-the-counter (OTC) market.[3]
However, a small number of bonds, primarily corporate ones, are listed on exchanges.
Today.
Overstock opened up.
The bond market.
To Bitcoin.