Overstock.com’s CEO denied reports the company suffered any significant losses because of a glitch in cryptocurrency systems, and said that, despite the media coverage, he still believes Bitcoin holds a lot of potential for the company.
“Right now we’re doing a tZero ICO raising $300 million...People are telling me that’s a business they think has a 3 billion or 4 billion value,” Patrick Byrne told Cheddar Friday.
“I literally have people on Wall St. saying, if I pull off the tZero ICO, and then over two years we do what we think we can do, they say that’s a $40 billion enterprise. People have no idea, yet how much of the financial system we intend to augment.”
Reports emerged earlier this week that a bug created a big opportunity for arbitrage, allowing customers to purchase items with Bitcoin Cash, which trades at roughly $2,500, and return them in exchange for Bitcoin, priced at more than $13,000.
Byrne said the issue was caused by the overwhelming trade volume at payment partner Coinbase. He claims the mix-up, which lasted milliseconds, did not result in any material losses.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/overstock-ceo-responds-to-bitcoin-mix-up).
Jim Corridore, Senior Insights Manager at Similarweb, joined Closing Bell to break down the competing offers from JetBlue and Frontier as both airlines look to join forces with Spirit Airlines.
Child care marketplace startup Kinside announced raising $12 million in a Series A round led by venture capitalists who are mothers themselves. The company aids parents searching for affordable child care easier by providing concierge support in a marketplace of verified professionals and helping them tap into flexible spending accounts (FSA) and other benefits. Founder and CEO Shadiah Sigala joined Cheddar News to talk about the fresh funds and the ongoing effects of the pandemic on the care of young children.
Apple revealed its plans for new IOS software, products, and more at its Worldwide Developers Conference. However, new features added to iMessage, including options to delete and edit already sent text messages, stole the show.
Hyatt Hotels released new data showing just how seriously consumers are looking at summer 2022 for revenge travel following previous disruptions from the pandemic. Joan Bottarini, CFO of the hotel chain, joined Cheddar News to break down the report. "We've got on the books a 15 percent increase on a global basis in demand over the summer months from June to August," she explained.
A survey by the BMO Real Financial Progress Index found that 25 percent of Americans are pulling back on retirement contributions to offset the cost of inflation. This comes as market volatility reduced retirement savings with the S&P 500 shedding more than 12 percent this year alone.
Meta's announcement that COO Sheryl Sandberg will be stepping down from her role after 14 years with the company has left investors wondering about the tech giant's future. Doug Astrop, a managing partner at Exponential Investment Partners (an investor in Meta), joined Cheddar News to discuss what the personnel change to Javier Olivan means for investors and the future of the Meta. "They are bringing somebody up who's been there a long time, who has been the chief revenue officer, and so I don't think it means major changes," he said. "but symbolically it's important and significant."
