Overstock’s Medici Land Governance (MLG) to Use Blockchain Registry in Zambia

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, August 2, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Zambia has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a subsidiary company of Overstock, which is an American retail giant. The memorandum is about a blockchain partnership that will be used for land registry made by the Zambian government. Under the contract, Overstock’s Medici Land Governance will cooperate with the government to overhaul land ownership.

What does this mean in practice? It means that rural land owners who have not legitimized their lands yet can do so using the blockchain technology and this will grant them access to financial markets all over the world.

Without having formal ownership of their lands, these people will face several issues whenever they need credit or even some public services. On the government’s side, it can be a positive situation as they will not be able to collect taxes more efficiently.

By using Medici Land Governance blockchain technology, the country will modernize its systems and it will collect and secure property ownership information. The CEO of Medici, Dr. Ali El Husseini, has affirmed that this partnership has the potential to change forever the economic development of the country and to be a game-changer in reducing poverty.

Blockchain To Help In Land Ownership

As the blockchain provides an immutable distributed ledger, it can be a solid solution to the old-fashioned fragmented paper records and unverified claims that are still used in Zambia.

Other countries are starting to use it as well, as the Agricultural Bank of China has recently confirmed that it had issued a way to make loans backed by land with the blockchain technology. Overstock is continuing to develop its blockchain technology on a worldwide scale.

About Medici Land Governance

Medici Land Governance leverages blockchain and other technologies to support land governance, titling, and administration with a secure public record of land ownership. With land records stored on the blockchain, land ownership is standardized and can be recognized by local and global economies. Blockchain applied to land improves lives, stimulates economies, and strengthens communities. Medici Land Governance supports agencies in the digitization of their current records, engendering trust and security in data by diminishing human error and accidental damage to records.

About Overstock.com

Overstock.com, IncCommon Shares (NASDAQ:OSTK) / Series A Preferred (Medici Ventures’ tZERO platform: OSTKP) / Series B Preferred (OTCQX:OSTBP) is an online retailer and technology company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Its leading e-commerce website sells a broad range of new products at low prices, including furniture, décor, rugs, bedding, home improvement, and more. The online shopping site, which is visited by nearly 40 million customers a month, also features a marketplace providing customers access to millions of products from third-party sellers. Overstock was the first major retailer to accept cryptocurrency in 2014, and in the same year founded Medici Ventures, its wholly-owned subsidiary developing and accelerating blockchain technologies to democratize capital, eliminate middlemen, and re-humanize commerce. Overstock regularly posts information about the company and other related matters on the Newsroom and Investor Relations pages on its website, Overstock.com.

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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-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2019, which was filed with the SEC on May 9, 2019, and any subsequent filings with the SEC.

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Source: Overstock.com, Inc.