Medici Ventures, Inc., a Blockchain -oriented subsidiary of Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSTK), has announced it will add SettleMint to its portfolio of investment companies. A Belgium-based fintech firm, SettleMint most recently released SettleMint Ballot Box, an application for recording voting on the Bitcoin blockchain.
“Medici Ventures is immersed in a global search for outstanding companies poised to disrupt key sectors with blockchain technology,” said Jonathan Johnson, president of Medici Ventures. “SettleMint is precisely the kind of company we hoped to find and we’re pleased to be an angel investor at such an early stage of what promises to be a very auspicious future.”
“Medici Ventures believes that blockchain technology can replace over 100 mechanisms of modern civilization and perform their functions far less expensively, and with less risk of capture and corruption, than those functions are being performed by current social institutions,” commented Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock. “Two years ago we identified six functions that will be fundamental to this new age, one of which was voting. Among SettleMint’s several great attractions to Medici Ventures’ capital has been their early work on blockchain voting. The immutability and universal accessibility of the blockchain make it the perfect technology for achieving higher confidence in the democratic process, for everyone.”
“The list of blockchain firms that Medici Ventures has invested in already and those that are seeking to join the Medici Ventures portfolio, is long and distinguished,” added SettleMint Founder and CEO Matthew Van Niekerk. “It’s very exciting to be a part of this organization, which shares our vision and determination to move blockchain technology from the realm of theory, squarely into reality. And that it’s happening in conjunction with the release of our SettleMint Ballot Box makes this a thrilling time for our company.”
