Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne recently resigned from his post after claiming to have had a relationship with Maria Butina, a Russian woman who plead guilty for acting as a foreign agent in the U.S. last year and was sentenced to 18 months in prison in April 2019, according to a report by Slate. Byrne has in the past been a major advocate for bitcoin and blockchain technology. His company Overstock has offered blockchain bonds and installed bitcoin ATMs at its headquarters in the past.

The CEO claimed in a press release that he was part of the "deep state," and that the FBI had told him to get to know Butina. He said in an interview with Fox News that he believed the orders came from former FBI official Peter Strzok.

Medici Ventures, the company’s blockchain investment arm also lost $61 million in 2018. It is not confirmed whether the two are connected, according to a report by Forbes.

Byrne also claims to still be "fond" of Butina and claims she should become president of Russia.