Bitcoin evangelist Patrick Byrne resigns as Overstock CEO following "deep state" scandal

American entrepeneur and Bitcoin advocate Patrick Byrne has announced his resignation as both CEO and board member of Overstock.com.

"[W]hile I believe that I did what was necessary for the good of the country, for the good of the firm, I am in the sad position of having to sever ties with Overstock," Byrne said in a letter to shareholders.

The resignation comes a little over a week after Byrne admitted his involvement in an FBI investigation into whether or not Russia influenced the 2016 U.S. presidential elections. 

In his statement, Byrne directed comments at law enforcement regarding the handling of a case involving a Russian agent named Maria Butina. Butina's lawyer admitted to The New York Times that Byrne and Butina had been in a relationship since 2015.

Longtime support for Bitcoin, blockchain

Overstock became the world's first major retailer to accept Bitcoin in January 2014. 

Byrne shared his thoughts on the company's strengths and weaknesses and praised a number of employees for their talent and contributions. He also made a point of commenting on blockchain technology, specifically:

"I think the blockchain revolution will reshape key social institutions. We have designed and breathed life into perhaps the most significant blockchain keiretsu in the world, a network of blockchain firms seeking to revolutionize identity, land governance (= rule of law = potential = capital), central banking, capital markets, supply chains, and voting," he sad.

"In three of those fields (land governance, central banking, and capital markets) the word 'trillions' comes up when calculating the disruptive opportunity of blockchain."