Overstock's TZERO ICO Yet to Launch as Token Sale Stalls Unexpectedly

A planned initial coin offering (ICO) for Overstock blockchain subsidiary tZERO, scheduled to go live at midnight Monday, has yet to launch as originally anticipated.

While little is known about the now nearly day-long delay, a countdown clock on SAFTLaunch.com, the issuance portal for tZERO's token, has expired without any update to the company's website or social media accounts. Indeed, CoinDesk's calls to key Overstock executives, including CEO Patrick Byrne, went unreturned or unanswered today.

What is known, however, is that the delay has now occurred for longer than initially planned. An hour after the countdown clock expired, at around 6:00 UTC this morning, tZERO's public relations lead confirmed to CoinDesk that the sale had been delayed until 19:00 UTC today. But as that time has passed and the countdown clock has again expired, the sale has still yet to launch.

TZERO's website currently shows the countdown to sale at "00:00:00:00," but there's no indication that the sale is live. And the sale is still shown as an "upcoming deal" on SAFTLaunch.com.

One interested investor contacted CoinDesk to say that SAFTLaunch has not been replying to questions about the sale, and some participants on social media reported similar issues.

The news is potentially impactful as TZERO's token sale is expected to be the largest in the cryptocurrency industry's history, although it remains unclear what amount of money tZERO was actually looking to raise from accredited investors. In October, CNBC reported a figure as high as $500 million, though figures differ.

CoinDesk has not been able to confirm either of those numbers, but during an on-site interview at CoinDesk's New York office, Byrne said the company would be looking to raise over $200 million.

The token has been touted as a way to pay the fees associated with various services on tZERO's alternative trading system (ATS), such as its digital locate receipts, which the company created, as Byrne notes, to eliminate the controversial practice of "naked short selling."

CoinDesk is following this developing story.

Additional reporting by Michael del Castillo.