A Utah federal judge has tossed out a lawsuit that accused Overstock ($OSTK) of market manipulation by distributing a ‘digital dividend’ of security tokens to shareholders and repeatedly revising retail earnings guidance upward to punish short-sellers. U.S. district judge Dale Kimball granted two motions to dismiss the suit on September 28, finding that the digital dividend did not manipulate the market, and that the revised earnings statements were protected by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. In his judgement Kimball said: “On the day that Overstock announced the dividend, market observers recognized and publicized that the digital dividend would place …

On Aug. 18, the Senate Intelligence Committee released volume five of its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The new version found that former CEO of Overstock.com and noted crypto advocate Patrick Byrne was a patsy to plans by Maria Butina, served time for espionage on behalf of Russia. The romance between Butina and Byrne was the reason the latter gave upon his departure from Overstock last year. Always an eccentric character, Byrne’s account of the relationship said that he was working with U.S. intelligence. Per one email from Paul Erickson quoted in the report, Byrne was a …

Overstock’s shares have jumped by 8% following the release of new data regarding user and trading activity on the company’s tZERO alternative trading system (ATS) for security tokens. An announcement published by tZERO on June 10 noted that May was the exchange’s strongest month on record, with 423,000 digital securities changing hands on the platform last month. The spike in activity follows Overstock’s ‘digital dividend’ distribution — which saw one ‘OSTKO’ security distributed for every ten Overstock shares held by investors. Overstock declares digital dividend a success When compared with May 2019, last month saw a fourfold increase in trading …

Overstock has successfully distributed its ‘digital dividend’, issuing ‘OSTKO’ security tokens to its stockholders on a basis of one digital token for every ten company shares owned on May 19. In total, 4.37 million OSTKO tokens were airdropped to shareholders via transfer agent Computershare according to account balances as of April 27. Overstock claims that the airdrop was conducted to bolster liquidity on its security token exchange, tZERO (TZROP). Overstock executes security token airdrop The Series A-1 shares will be exclusively tradable on Overstock’s alternative trading system (ATS) tZERO. Overstock chief executive Jonathan Johnson, expressed pride in having issued the …

Online retailer Overstock is facing a lawsuit from shareholder John Murphy over former CEO Patrick Byrne’s abrupt departure from the company and off-loading of $90 million worth of shares. According to Law360 on March 11, Murphy is seeking records under Section 220 of Delaware General Corporation Law to examine potential violations of duty on the part of Overstock’s directors in connection with Byrne’s actions. The suit states: “This action seeks corporate books and records to investigate Byrne’s and the board’s role in what appears to be a scheme to cause a so-called ‘short squeeze,’ resulting in Byrne’s sudden resignation from …

A new complaint filed in Utah accuses Overstock.com, former CEO Patrick Byrne and former CFO Greg Iverson of securities fraud. The complaint Filed on Friday, Sept. 27, the complaint requests a trial by jury, alleging that Byrne designed Overstock.com’s digital asset-based dividend as a means of punishing short sellers, which other outlets have alleged previously. On the subject, and in language more dramatic than many legal filings, the complaint reads: “While defendant Byrne had previously, at different times, launched into public tirades over short selling and naked short selling, the tZERO Dividend was his secret plot to finally obtain hegemony …

On Sept. 19, former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne sold his entire stake in the firm, which accounted for 13% of the company and was worth over $90 million. While the move surprised many, those closely following Patrick’s eccentric personality saw it coming from a mile away. Overstock was launched in May 1999. In the early days of the internet, it worked as an online marketplace that sold surplus goods from failed dot-com companies. It had a competitive advantage by selling at rates lower than wholesale prices. Its business model still hasn’t changed, selling closeout home decor, furniture, bedding and more. …

Former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne has sold his 13% stake in the firm for $90 million to move to gold and crypto trading. Byrne, who resigned from Overstock on Aug. 22, cashed out nearly 4.8 million Overstock (OSTK) shares, which accounts for more than 13% of the company, American financial publication MarketWatch reported on Sept. 19. According to a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the former CEO was selling his shares at lower and lower prices over the past three days, ranging from $21.84 on Sept. 16 to $16.32 on Sept. 18. “Counter-cyclical to the …

Singaporean private equity firm Makara Capital said it will not invest in Overstock’s blockchain subsidiary tZERO. In an Overstock investor call on Aug. 26, Overstock’s interim CEO Jonathan Johnson said that Makara recently informed the firm that they “will be not investing in tZERO right now.” Medici Ventures will continue to support tZERO Johnson emphasized that Makara remains excited about tZERO’s product and will potentially reconsider its investment decision as tZERO progresses. In the meantime, Overstock’s blockchain-focused venture arm Medici Ventures will continue to support the project, Johnson stated. The news come just four days after former Overstock CEO Patrick …

Noted crypto advocate Patrick Byrne has resigned as CEO of Overstock. Per a letter of resignation and company statement posted on Twitter Aug. 22, Patrick Byrne has stepped down as CEO of Overstock. Having led crypto-friendly e-commerce at the company, including the launch of tZERO, Overstock’s crypto token platform, and Overstock’s acceptance of Bitcoin payment, Byrne’s resignation follows the announcement of disappointing Q1 earnings for 2019. More directly, Byrne cited the recent announcement of his controversial relationship with Maria Butina as the impetus for cutting ties with Overstock. In his letter of resignation, Byrne reaffirmed his faith that “the blockchain …

Online retail giant and major crypto industry disruptor Overstock.com has seen a 17% decrease in revenue in Q1 2019 from Q1 2018, the firm’s CEO Patrick Byrne revealed in the latest quarterly report released on May 9. Overstock’s total net revenue reportedly decreased from $445 million in Q1 2018 to $367 million in Q1 2019, as the company saw a sufficient decline in sales and marketing expenses as part of their effort to bring back retail profitability. Following a major shift in retail strategy with a large increase in sales in January 2018, Overstock reportedly stopped this strategy in August …

The CEO of retail giant Overstock.com, Patrick Byrne, noted the potential profitability of the firm’s retail arm in its Q4 2018 earnings conference call on March 18. Byrne’s statements indicate that Overstock may not be divesting from its retail wing as soon as was previously indicated. Last year, Byrne reportedly told The Wall Street Journal that Overstock would sell off its retail wing sometime in early 2019. During the section of the conference call devoted to retail, Byrne said that “this is going to be a year of explosive growth,” and that the retail wing would “spit out cash.” The …