Rabrandt99
Elio Enthusiast
The answer is simple: Patrick Byrne will fund virtually anything that has to do with Crypto. The more research I've done on various aspects of cryptocurrency, it almost always leads back to him in some way, shape or form. Honestly, Eliocoin was probably started with the knowledge of knowing that they'd get at least ONE person interested in them... the aforementioned Patrick Byrne.
Seriously, anytime this guys talks, he makes it known that while he likes the ergonomics of the Elio, it's the coin itself and what it means for the crypto-community that got him to invest and get Overstock involved (I've posted the Periscope video of Byrne speaking about this before). Byrne has been waiting for a project to come across his lap as a showcase for what he believes is a way to raise capital for infrastructure and manufacturing projects... which the Elio fits into perfectly. So he'll pump money into it, because if it succeeds, it proves his point and makes tZero look like a better alternative to Wall Street (which is his ultimate goal with tZero).
And like with Reg-A+, Elio was the first 'manufacturer' to go to crypto... so he wasn't going to pass that up, no matter what. Yes, 2.5 million is a paltry amount, but if it's all that's needed to keep the Elio lights on until they can do their digital coin on his platform, then that's what he'll do. That's partly why certain stockholders are pissed at him, as he has a tendency to use Overstock as a way to fund crypto projects without those projects really having any sort of way of benefiting Overstock near (or even far) term. Plus, while we don't know what amount he's given, he was the first person (on his own, and not via Overstock) to give money to Elio's ICO attempt to raise funds before launching Eliocoin.
So no, ESG Engineering was not behind the 2.5 million. That was all Patrick Byrne, using Overstock as his way of funding all the crypto projects that come his way. And I have a feeling that Byrne will keep pouring money into Elio until the Eliocoin comes out (unless Paul and other people on his team manage to piss him off), because it fits into his agenda... once Eliocoin comes out, then it's anyone's guess.
