Investors Commit $100 Million to tZERO ICO

The initial phase of a token sale for Overstock.com subsidiary tZERO has seen significant investor activity, according to CEO Patrick Byrne

As reported by CoinDesk, the first leg of the sale – in which the firm is selling Simple Agreements for Future Equity (SAFEs) that will later be redeemed for tokens by accredited investors – began yesterday, albeit a bit later than planned. Hiccups aside, Byrne told CoinDesk the sale ultimately attracted a big crowd – some 2,000 accredited investors.

As such, he indicated the company may move to shorten the initial two-month timeframe for the token sale.

"We had, yesterday, 2,000 accredited investors come and apply and get the process going," Byrne said, adding that he had taken several phone calls from investors himself.

Some of the offers, he said, were as high as $5 million or more for single token allocations.

TZERO is an alternative trading system (ATS) or dark pool that's registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The trading system grew out of the Medici blockchain effort within online retail giant Overstock, an initiative that dates back to 2014 and is aimed at creating a wholly new kind of trading environment based on a blockchain.

The company announced yesterday that the pre-sale and the subsequent sale would be limited to accredited investors – allocating a month for each sale – while reserving the right to shorten either if necessary. The pre-sale to strategic purchasers will be limited to $100 million, with the remaining $150 million open to all accredited investors, CoinDesk has learned.

"We woke up this morning, and people have reached for over $100 million," Byrne said. "Which may mean we get to compress this."

Due to the legal constraints under SEC regulations for open offerings, Byrne declined to discuss specific bonuses to investors in the sale. He said the largest "bonus coupons" will accrue to the first $10 million sold, with an attractive bonus to the next $90 million. All investors in the offering will get bonuses of some kind, at three different tiers.

Investors should also expect a detailed onboarding through the offering's issuance portal, SAFTLaunch.com, according to Byrne.

"Our ability to maintain the Reg D protection is keeping this a very formal process," he told CoinDesk.

Stock exchange image via Shutterstock.