Bitcoin tech and the future of business

The new Medici?

When online retailer Overstock began accepting bitcoins in January, many in the crypto community cheered the move as an important step in the currency's eventual universal acceptance. What most didn't realize, though, is that buying goods is not all Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne has in mind.

In an Oct. 6 announcement, Byrne revealed that he was planning a completely decentralized financial exchange using blockchain technology. Byrne, whose disdain of Wall Street is well documented, said he thinks this system will ultimately replace the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq.

"We can bring a technology to market that does everything that Wall Street does," he said. "We will have made the biggest financial disruption in 800 years."

Harkening to the advent of modern banking in the Renaissance, Overstock has dubbed its project "Medici." Byrne said it may eventually replace retail as the primary focus of his company.

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Marketing and bluster aside, Medici offers a clear value proposition: An equities or bonds exchange that cuts out the middlemen could offer greater efficiencies and cost-savingsand allow for the layman to more readily participate in the market.

Although that task may seem daunting from a regulatory standpoint because it seeks to fully upend the current system, Byrne predicted he will be offering the first securities over his exchange in April as "early indications are actually quite positive" from regulators.

Any new exchange will be examined closely by the Securities and Exchange Commission to make sure it satisfies regulatory requirements for fair trading and adequate disclosure, Shadab said.

Also, the technological and regulatory hurdles facing Medici are not necessarily as trivial as Byrne thinks, said Charles Hoskinson, director of the Bitcoin Education Project, who has been involved with several blockchain projects.

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Bitcoin tech and the future of business