Around a year ago, as the cryptocurrency price run of 2017 was just beginning, online retailer Overstock.com (OSTK  ) made a bold move to shift away from its traditional business - online retail - and pivot to cryptocurrency and blockchain to jumpstart growth. Overstock launched a crypto-focused unit, tZero, and created a subsidiary, Medici Ventures, that invests in blockchain companies.

While the move seemed surprising at the time, Overstock.com's retail division has long performed poorly relative to competitors like Amazon (AMZN  ). Its bet on cryptocurrency has generally been profitable thus far; Overstock's overall value has risen 130% over the past year. Overstock's value also jumped by over 15% in July after Chinese private equity firm GSR Capital said it would invest $270 billion into tZero - equal to an 18% stake - and buy $30 million worth of tZero security tokens. tZERO CEO Saum Noursalehi said in an announcement, "We are honored to have GSR Capital as a strategic investor...The tokenization of securities has the potential to disrupt global capital markets responsible for moving hundreds of trillions of dollars. Together with our partners, we will globalize our blockchain-based platform, bringing more efficiency, liquidity, and trust to capital markets."

That isn't to say that it's been an entirely smooth ride. Just last week, Overstock plummeted 21%. While the company's overall value has increased, so have its losses: its 2018 total losses thus far amount $64.9 million this year, compared with $7.5 million in 2017. 2018 has generally not been kind to Overstock, along with the cryptocurrency market in general; the company's value has contracted by 30% from the dizzying heights it reached at the peak of the cryptocurrency boom of 2017. Overstock is also facing regulatory scrutiny from the SEC for its plans to host an initial coin offering for tZero.

Still, Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne seems optimistic about cryptocurrency. Indeed, Byrne hinted in a recent letter that Overstock may shift funds away from its floundering retail unit to focus on cryptocurrency, and that it is in talks with potential buyers of its retail divsion: "Given the rapidly growing value of our non-retail assets, we think shareholders are better served now by a cash-conservative strategy. I believe Overstock can focus on developing more non-traditional means of growth and profitability."

Overstock is now also looking to expand into a new venture - real estate. It will soon release its redesign of real estate property management site, Houserie.