Overstock Rallies On FINRA Approval For tZERO Markets

Shares of Overstock.com Inc OSTK were trading higher on Thursday after the company's tZERO subsidiary received Financial Industry Regulatory Authority approval to launch tZERO Markets.

What Happened: Overstock's wholly owned, blockchain-focused subsidiary tZERO got FINRA member approval to launch tZERO Markets, a retail broker-dealer platform to provide retail brokerage services for digital securities and provide issuers with investment banking and placement agent services in connection with capital-raising activities.

Why It's Important: With the launch of tZERO Markets, customers will have a streamlined experience in trading digital securities.

It will also open avenues for retail investors to access private markets that include a range of issuers, asset types, growth-stage companies, real estate and funds.

"From digitizing a private company’s ownership records to trading through an institutional-grade order-management system, tZERO has built an end-to-end ecosystem that democratizes access to private assets," tZERO CEO Saum Noursalehi said in a statement.

Initially, tZERO Markets will be launched on the web, followed by mobile applications, subject to regulatory review, the company said.

This will raise the value of tZERO's blockchain-focused platform, as users will have the unique ability to trade cryptocurrencies and traditional securities on one platform.

Benzinga's Take: The tZERO Markets platform will add to the fast-growing space of digital trading, competing with the likes of Robinhood.

OSTK Price Action: Overstock's shares were trading 16.3% higher to $80.18 on double their usual volume at the time of publication Thursday.  

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