Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com and passionate Bitcoin supporter, was selected for Rand Paul's "Tech Council".
Byrne has been a vocal critic of Wall Street. His company began accepting bitcoin for payment early last year, becoming one of the largest to do so at the time. Overstock reportedly retains a portion of its bitcoin-based sales as bitcoins. More recently, Byrne has spearheaded an initiative that envisions "cryptosecurities" replacing traditional securities infrastructure.
Paul, a staunch libertarian Republican, recently announced his candidacy for the 2016 presidential election. In so doing, he became the first such candidate to accept bitcoin donations.
He advocates a "hands off" approach to the nation's money supply. He is considered part of the "Tea Party Movement" and has been a vocal critic of NSA surveillance.
His campaign thus far has incorporated technology as a major theme, bringing his presence to the Democrat stronghold San Francisco. He recently mentioned the formation of his Tech council, or group of Tech advisors. Recent tweets include:
We are running the most disruptive campaign and technology is essential to that. Join us >>> https://t.co/lpzLQBXXC5
— Dr. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) May 9, 2015He announced other members of the group:
Proud to announce the first part of our tech council today! Michele Weslander Quaid of Google, @jeremytunnell of @thumbtack (1/2)
— Dr. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) May 10, 2015Patrick Byrne of https://t.co/PkoZW5Svn0@OverstockCEO , Adil Khan, Steve Danziger from BAE Systems, @bhudgeons of Schoox (2/2)
— Dr. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) May 10, 2015This past weekend, he took part in the "Disrupting Democracy" discussion with Lincoln Labs and Brigade at StartupHouse in San Francisco. He also told the San Francisco Chronicle that although Silicon Valley was viewed as traditionally liberal, he believed that many share a similar libertarian vision.
