TZERO Announced New Broker-Dealers Trading On Its Blockchain

by
https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5ed104298be1be0006b4bf0e/960x0.jpg?fit=scale
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 26: Television journalists and others gather across from the entrance to ... [+] the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on the first day that traders are allowed back onto the historic floor of the exchange on May 26, 2020 in New York City. While only a small number of traders will be returning at this time, those that do will have to take temperature checks and wear face masks at all times while on the floor. The Dow rose over 600 points in morning trading as investors see economic activity in America picking up. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)Getty Images

tZERO, owned by Overstock OSTK , announced yesterday that broker-dealers ChoiceTrade and an unnamed investment bank focused on institutional brokerage are now live and trading on the tZERO Alternative Trading System (ATS). Both brokers are now subscribers to the tZERO’s ATS.

This seems to be a step in the right direction for tZERO and its retail customers because they now can trade Overstock’s innovative Series A-1 dividend shares, issued to Overstock shareholders last week.

The dividend itself was a first for blockchain style securities, where it could be tracked on tZERO’s blockchain network but still trade as any mainstream preferred share. Skeptics did express concern over the A-1 dividend’s inability to trade the shares on exchanges other than the Overstock-owned tZERO exchange.

tZERO ATS, as of this announcement, has three active subscribers. The Company stated that it had signed an additional four agreements with progressive broker-dealers interested in trading securities.

tZERO CEO Saum Noursalehi said, “Our primary objective in partnering with Overstock on its digital dividend was to enhance liquidity on the tZERO ATS. The launch of two new broker-dealers marks an important milestone toward achieving this objective. These subscribers, together with existing agreements with other broker-dealers, will meaningfully increase the number of investors able to trade digital securities. Today’s announcement is also exciting as it will make our platform more attractive to prospective issuers.”