Get Cash Back and $0 Commissions
+ The Power of TradeStation
Business Wire 11-Jul-2019 4:35 PM
Dear tZERO Token Holder,
I am quite pleased with the progress our team is making. I have been communicating with you, our token holders, through the Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSTK) quarterly earnings calls, SEC disclosure, and periodic event-driven press releases. I realize I can do more to keep you apprised of the status and prospects of the business. This letter is a first step in that direction. We have also hired a Head of Investor Relations to help.
This letter addresses: why I believe tZERO is such a significant business opportunity, the milestones we have already hit this year, and the planned roadmap for the remainder of the year.
Why Security Tokens?
We firmly believe that security tokens are the next generation of how the world will trade value. In the near future, blockchain and smart contract technology will allow most assets to be tokenized into digital form. This tokenization would make virtually every asset class more easily divisible and tradeable, with the added security provided by an immutable blockchain. Tokenization can extend beyond equities, to assets such as real estate, funds, art, film, and even sports teams. It will democratize access to these traditionally exclusive assets. It will also create more liquidity, reduce friction costs (through token technology that follows regulatory laws), improve regulatory compliance, and make settlement near instant (curtailing a significant source of the potential for market manipulation today).
At this time, security tokens and security token trading ecosystems are analogous to the first cellular network towers and the first Motorola mobile phones (aka "brick phones"). Those early products – rudimentary as they seem today – were not at their full potential; however, they showed the promise and capacity for cell phones to become far more superior to what was traditionally available. While tZERO nominally builds phones (tokens), our focus and key to success lies in building a next-generation global network (just as it was in the early years of cellular technology, what matters is who owns the towers). This is where tZERO not only has a substantial lead, but also has a patent protecting how the network is built. While the cellular phone industry is not a perfect proxy for the trade of security tokens, and there is room for conjecture on the impact of phone makers versus network providers, the point stands that our future is not determined by picking winners and losers of particular tokens, but rather in creating the foundation for the industry.
Unlike the decades and billions of dollars it took to build the physical backbone of cellular networks, a significant portion of tZERO's infrastructure is already in place. As our network is software-based, we can iterate improvements at a radically faster rate for a fraction of the cost, and thus more easily scale our business. These reasons form the basis for my confidence in our success and in the enormous impact tZERO's technology can have on the world.
Where are we today?
Below is a list of our key accomplishments this year.
What's next?
The tZERO Crypto App provides numerous interesting and unique features, the most important of which is to serve as a foundation for the eventual trading of all digital assets, as well as many non-digital assets (e.g., common stocks). When we get a tZERO subsidiary approved as a broker-dealer that can handle retail clients and provide other services, we will work to add functionality to trade both security tokens and traditional equities through the web, iOS, and Android.
Below are our primary goals for the next six to nine months.
Our Team
Our leadership team is stronger than it has ever been. They are a well-rounded group with a wide variety of disciplines, and provide us with a mix of high-grade technology, regulatory, and capital markets expertise.
We recently had an offer accepted to fill the last gap in our management team, the Head of Issuance. Look for a press release in the coming weeks announcing this new hire. The Head of Issuance will help us find companies that are interested in doing token offerings to raise capital and companies interested in tokenizing their cap tables. This person and her team will also look for strategic partnerships to help us quickly scale adoption for our technology.
To work with our management team, we have also appointed a new Board of Directors that brings the right backgrounds and expertise to help us get through our upcoming capital markets and regulatory initiatives.
We are a growth stage company and are currently operating at a loss as we continue to build, invest and grow. This has a couple of consequences.
While the tZERO security tokens provide our investors with direct exposure to our revenue growth through the 10% adjusted gross revenue dividend model, we cannot declare and pay dividends so long as we operate at a loss (and subject to other criteria, including the availability of surplus under applicable corporate law). I know there has been some concern about the performance of our token price. I ask our token holders to remember that this is still only the beginning of building out the new infrastructure for the next generation of capital markets. It has only been a few months since Dino started on-boarding the first investors and since accredited investors first started reselling their tZERO tokens on the PRO Securities ATS.
As a member of our Board of Directors, I am confident our board intends to approve dividends as soon as it makes sense from a business and legal perspective.
I am very pleased with our momentum, evident by the milestones we have achieved, the technology we have deployed, and the products we have delivered this year. I thank you for your continued support.
Respectfully,
Saum Noursalehi CEO, tZERO
Investor Notice
Investors should note that trading security tokens could involve substantial risks, including no guarantee of returns, costs associated with selling and purchasing, no assurance of liquidity which could impact the price and ability to sell, and possible loss of principal invested. Further, an investment in single security token could mean lack of diversification and, consequently, higher risk.
Accredited investors trade the tZERO security tokens, and investors that trade OSTKO, on the PRO Securities ATS only through a brokerage account established with Dino, a subscriber to the ATS, with clearing and custody provided by Electronic Transaction Clearing, a registered broker-dealer, and Computershare as transfer agent.
No Offer, Solicitation, Investment Advice or Recommendations
This release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation to buy, or a recommendation for any security or token, nor does it constitute an offer to provide investment advisory or other services by the tZERO or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, directors or employees. No reference to any specific security or token constitutes a recommendation to buy, sell or hold that security or token or any other security or token. Nothing in this release shall be considered a solicitation or offer to buy or sell any security, token, future, option or other financial instrument or to offer or provide any investment advice or service to any person in any jurisdiction. Nothing contained in this release constitutes investment advice or offers any opinion with respect to the suitability of any security or token, and the views expressed in this release should not be taken as advice to buy, sell or hold any security or token. In preparing the information contained in this release, we have not taken into account the investment needs, objectives and financial circumstances of any particular investor. This information has no regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs of any specific recipient of this information and investments discussed may not be suitable for all investors. Any views expressed in this release by us were prepared based upon the information available to us at the time such views were written. Changed or additional information could cause such views to change. All information is subject to possible correction. Information may quickly become unreliable for various reasons, including changes in market conditions or economic circumstances.
About tZERO
tZERO Group, Inc. ("tZERO") is a majority owned subsidiary of Overstock.com, focusing on the development and commercialization of financial technology (FinTech) based on cryptographically-secured, decentralized ledgers – more commonly known as blockchain technologies. Since its inception, tZERO has pioneered the effort to bring greater efficiency and transparency to capital markets through the integration of blockchain technology. For more information on tZERO, please visit: https://www.tzero.com/.
tZERO is not a registered broker-dealer, funding portal, underwriter, investment bank, investment adviser or investment manager, and is not providing brokerage, investment banking or underwriting services, recommendations or investment advice to any person, and does not provide any brokerage services. tZERO takes no part in the negotiation or execution of secondary market transactions for the purchase or sale of securities and at no time has possession of investor funds or securities in connection with such transactions.
About PRO Securities, LLC
PRO Securities, LLC is a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and a member of FINRA and SIPC. More information about PRO Securitiesmay be found at www.finra.org.
About Overstock.com
Overstock.com, Inc Common Shares (NASDAQ:OSTK) / Digital Voting Series A-1 Preferred Stock (Medici Ventures' tZERO platform:OSTKO) / Series B Preferred (OTCQX:OSTBP) is an online retailer and technology company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Its leading e-commerce website sells a broad range of new products at low prices, including furniture, décor, rugs, bedding, home improvement, and more. The online shopping site, which is visited by nearly 40 million customers a month, also features a marketplace providing customers access to millions of products from third-party sellers. Overstock was the first major retailer to accept cryptocurrency in 2014, and in the same year founded Medici Ventures, its wholly-owned subsidiary developing and accelerating blockchain technologies to democratize capital, eliminate middlemen, and re-humanize commerce. Overstock regularly posts information about the company and other related matters on the Newsroom and Investor Relations pages on its website, Overstock.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190711005819/en/