The pre-ICO sales of tZERO have been better than expected, according to Overstock founder and CEO of the new subsidiary company, Patrick Byrne. The project is part of a two-pronged strategy by Byrne and partner Hernando de Soto, a Peruvian economist and author of "The Mystery of Capital," in which they hope to unlock dead funds from property transactions to benefit the developing world.

The tZERO prong comprises the first part of this strategy, the company being an SEC-registered ATS (alternative trading system) or dark pool, with which Byrne and De Soto intend to garner the funds required for their second subsidiary company, De Soto Inc., to conduct property transactions

 The project derives from Overstock's initiatives in introducing blockchain technology into their trading systems in 2014, with Byrne's proclaimed goal being to create an entirely new type of global trading environment based on the blockchain principle.

The opening salvo has already attracted 2,000 accredited investors, who will acquire SAFEs (Simple Agreements for Future Equity) which they can subsequently exchange for token allocations. While aiming for $100m initial investment, it is believed that this figure has already been exceeded, with some investors offering up to $5m per single token, thus permitting the company to compress the projected two-month ICO period.