The CEO and Cofounder of Overstock, Patrick Byrne, had sold nine lakh shares of his company stock. The sale has resulted in a massive reaction among the common people and has demanded him the answer for the same. The news of the sale has affected the stock price of the company. It is reported that it has fallen by 16%.
Soon Byrne felt the necessity to address the investors and defend his decision. In his letter he said he is investing in a blockchain project along with Overstock, keeping up his commitment he needed money. With the money, he also needs to meet the charitable pledges. In the letter, he also told the shareholders not to interfere in his life outside Overstock.
He further wrote he has no clue why investors want to know where and how he spends his money to meet the personal goals of life. He told he requires money to invest in several blockchain projects. With the money from the stock sale, he is trying to supplement his salary.
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In his letter, he reminded the investors about the last year’s incidence of the share sale to fund various projects. He revealed since then he has invested $12.5 million into blockchain projects as per his letter he has donated $50 million for charity as well.
Overstock was established in 1997 as an online retailer for overstocked stocks. From 2014 the company has started accepting. From 2017 the CEO has focused more on cryptocurrencies and has planned to sell his e-commerce company. But based on the present situation it seems Byrne has dropped that plan.
Byrne is an active supporter of cryptocurrencies and has played a significant role in the boom of cryptos back in 2017. He is the first major retailer to accept cryptos as well. The company shares have fallen mainly after the 2018 crypto market drop.
In 2017 when Byrne declared he is focusing more on cryptos, he got a positive response from investors, but the for his cryptocurrency subsidiary Medici Ventures things are taking a lot of extra time than expected. But the share price of Overstock started to fall when the news surfaced about the SEC probe into the crypto project.
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Although it is not something new for Overstock, the company always had a troubled relationship with the world.
