Barbados-based Blockchain Leader Bitt Names Brian Popelka President
July 17 2018 - 8:00AM
Former Overstock.com executive to oversee Bitt’s expansion in
Caribbean and beyond
Medici Ventures’ blockchain portfolio company Bitt announces the
appointment of former Overstock.com executive Brian Popelka as Bitt
president. Bitt is a Barbados-based FinTech company developing a
digital currency ecosystem in the Caribbean using blockchain and
distributed ledger technology. The company’s goal is to
revolutionize the traditional banking industry by empowering the
Caribbean’s unbanked residents through secure and decentralized
banking and payment options.
“Bitt is one of the first companies bringing the power of the
blockchain to daily life, and I’m honored to now have a hand in
shaping the future of frictionless banking at one of the most
mature blockchain-meets-banking companies in the world,” said
Popelka. “Our digital payment products provide an alternative to
complex banking systems with high barriers of entry by allowing
people to store money on the secure and decentralized blockchain
while still having easy access to that money for use in everyday
transactions.”
As president, Popelka will focus on continuing to grow adoption
of Bitt’s digital wallet technology in the region while pursuing
opportunities for integration with central banking systems in the
Caribbean and beyond. The company has already signed memorandums of
understanding (MOU) with several Caribbean nations to integrate its
technology with central and commercial banks within those
countries. Bitt’s mMoney digital payment technology launched in
Barbados in 2017.
“I’ve spent many years in the trenches with Brian. There is no
one better suited than he to shepherd Bitt through this upcoming
period of growth and expansion while staying true to the core
values of the company – helping unbanked people join the global
economy,” said Patrick M. Byrne, CEO and founder of Medici
Ventures’ parent company, Overstock.com. “The eyes of the world
will continue to watch the Caribbean as it leads the way in using
trust through technology to decentralize cross-border banking and
commerce with Bitt at the forefront.”
Popelka was one of the earliest employees at Overstock.com and
has held executive roles for the online furniture and home goods
leader for more than twelve years. He will bring experience in
digital startup growth and infrastructural expansion to Bitt as it
continues its work on building a full tech stack for banking that
connects central banks to commercial banks to consumer’s digital
wallets.
“Brian’s involvement in growing Overstock from a small dot com
startup in Utah to a global leader in online retail will have an
immense impact on Bitt as we make that same evolution within the
global banking market,” said Bitt CEO Rawdon Adams. “We are
grateful that he has joined our team and are excited to move
forward under his leadership as we continue to develop a solution
that allows the millions of unbanked and underbanked people across
the world to become true citizens of the global economy.”
About Bitt: Bitt is a Barbados-based financial
technology company that utilizes blockchain and distributed ledger
technology to facilitate secure peer-to-peer transactions with
seamless mobile money across a suite of Bitt's Software and Mobile
Applications. The company was founded in 2013 To financially
empower everyone and provide infrastructure to support a digital
financial ecosystem throughout the Caribbean, that will stimulate
economic growth and financial access for this and future
generations. Bitt’s mMoney digital payment product was launched in
Barbados in 2017.
About Medici Ventures: Launched in 2014, Medici
Ventures is a wholly owned subsidiary of Overstock.com, Inc.,
created to leverage blockchain technology to solve real-world
problems with transparent, efficient and secure solutions. Medici
Ventures has a growing portfolio of groundbreaking
blockchain-focused investments, including tZERO, Peernova, Bitt,
Voatz, Bitsy, SettleMint, Factom, and IdentityMind, Spera and
Symbiont. The company’s majority-owned financial technology
company, tZERO, executed the world’s first blockchain-based stock
offering in December 2016.
About Overstock.com
Overstock.com, Inc. Common Shares (NASDAQ:OSTK) / Series A
Preferred (Medici Ventures’ tZERO platform:OSTKP) / Series B
Preferred (OTCQX:OSTBP) is an online retailer based in Salt Lake
City, Utah that sells a broad range of products at low prices,
including furniture, décor, rugs, bedding, and home improvement. In
addition to home goods, Overstock.com offers a variety of products
including jewelry, electronics, apparel, and more, as well as a
marketplace providing customers access to hundreds of thousands of
products from third-party sellers. Additional stores include Pet
Adoptions and Worldstock.com dedicated to selling artisan-crafted
products from around the world. Forbes ranked Overstock in its list
of the Top 100 Most Trustworthy Companies in 2014. Overstock
regularly posts information about the company and other related
matters under Investor Relations on its website,
http://www.overstock.com.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements
within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such
forward-looking statements include all statements other than
statements of historical fact. Additional information regarding
factors that could materially affect results and the accuracy of
the forward-looking statements contained herein may be found in the
Company's Form 10-K for the quarter ended December 30, 2017, which
was filed with the SEC on March 15, 2018, and any subsequent
filings with the SEC.
Media Contact:pr@mediciventures.com
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