Marketswiki, 02 February 2021
Patrick Byrne is an American entrepreneur. Despite owning a company that is publicly traded on Wall Street, he has been called “The Scourge of Wall Street” for his outspoken criticism of several high-profile individuals in various financial institutions whom he accused of corruption.[1] He is the founder and chief executive officer of Overstock.com, one of the first retailers to begin accepting bitcoin as payment for goods and services.[2] He is also the co-creator of the blockchain platform tZERO.
On August 22, 2019, in a letter to shareholders, Byrne announced his resignation as chief executive officer and member of the board of Overstock.com.
Byrne is the son of John “Jack” Byrne, the former owner of GEICO and a longtime friend of Warren Buffett. Patrick Byrne founded Overstock.com in 1999 out of Utah. In 2001, he founded Worldstock Fair Trade, a division of Overstock that sells handmade artisanal items from developing nations. Some of the profits have been used to fund various philanthropic projects.
Byrne is a longtime supporter of bitcoin and cryptocurrency. He has been quoted saying that the world is heading to a massive recession caused by Wall Street corruption, and that cryptocurrency, which does not require governments or financial institutions to function, is the key to humanity surviving what he calls the “Zombie Apocalypse.” He has been criticized by numerous financial and journalistic institutions for this belief, including the New York Post. Others have commended him for his “personal jihad” against “naked short-selling,” a legal practice which Byrne believes will eventually destroy the U.S. economy. This personal mission eventually led him to utilize blockchain technology to attempt to create a more transparent financial system.
