Overstock.com’s Blockchain subsidiary tZero is planning to launch a mobile-based application for trading in Bitcoin and, possibly, Ether.
As revealed by the company’s CEO Saum Noursalehi to Coindesk, tZERO has outsourced the development process of both iOS and Android-based trading application to Bitsy with a scheduled launch date in June.
Noursalehi detailed that the upcoming app will work without the support of a third-party wallet platform for crypto storage. Moreover, it will have access to tZERO’s partner institutional Trading Platform SFox.
Last year, Overstock’s venture arm Medici Ventures invested heavily in Bitsy which was developing products to fill the gap between crypto and fiat. The company, last September, launched a cryptocurrency wallet.
“That’s part of the reason we acquired Bitsy — to accelerate time to market for our mobile app,” Noursalehi told Coindesk. “They have an app for trading crypto, primarily bitcoin, in a beta-phase, they built a wallet and key recovery mechanism, and this will be the foundation of the mobile app for tZERO. They are also working on some cool stuff like biometric login.”
An All-in-One Trading Platform
In addition, the Overstock subsidiary is also planning to add the option of trading securities token listed on tZERO along with traditional stocks. The company needs a retail broker-dealer license for these services, for which it is filing its application.
In January, tZERO launched a regulated alternative trading system (ATS) platform to offer a securities clearing and settlement. To date, the platform only offers its native tZERO Preferred (TZEROP) token. The CEO, however, revealed that the company is working on the onboarding process of many companies on the platform including players from real estate, private equity, venture funds, technology, and many more.
“I hope in the next quarter we will sign contracts with them,” Noursalehi added. “We’ve been a bit more selective than other ATS out there, we want to make sure the companies that want to issue tokens with us are well-funded, have revenues and will be around in the next three-four years.”
