Overstock’s security token trading platform tZERO is reportedly set to launch a cryptocurrency trading app this summer, to let users buy and sell bitcoin on their mobile devices, and potentially also ether.
According to CoinDesk, the app will be available on iOS and Android devices, and is scheduled to launch in June. It’s being developed by a cryptocurrency startup in the portfolio of Overstock’s venture arm Medici Ventures, called Bitsy.
tZERO’s CEO, Saum Noursalehi, reportedly told the news outlet that Bitsy was acquired partly because it can help “accelerate time to market” its mobile app. He added:
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.
The company’s app is going to let users hold their cryptocurrencies without relying on third-parties, and will “plug into a network of exchanges” through an institutional trading platform it partnered with, called SFox.
In the future, the security token trading platform is set to hold its own cryptocurrencies to satisfy user demand. It’s also looking to acquired a retail broker-dealer license, to let users trade security tokens and traditional stocks through the app.
tZERO itself has so far only been trading its own native token TZEROP, but is reportedly looking to add more. Per Noursalehi, companies it’s in talks with include some related to real estate, private equity, and pharmaceuticals.
Blockchain Beyond Crypto: A Conversation with tZERO's CEO @Noursalehi by @Trading_Tech $TZROP https://t.co/wkoDa0qS4c
— tZERO (@tzeroblockchain) February 25, 2019
The CEO was quoted as saying the firm has been “been a bit more selective than other ATS [alternative trading systems] out there” as it wants to ensure “the companies that want to issue tokens with us are well-funded, have revenues and will be around in the next three-four years.”