This morning, Long Island Iced Tea, a New York-based beverage maker, announced it was changing its name to Long Blockchain Corp. The company’s relation to cryptocurrency is dubious — it says it will “leverage the benefits of blockchain technology” — but it was quickly rewarded with a 200 percent jump in stock price at the opening of trading.
Long Island Iced Tea isn’t the first or even the strangest company to try cashing in on the bitcoin craze. As bitcoin’s value skyrocketed past $15,000 earlier this month, several companies have rewritten their name or mission statement to reference blockchain technology or cryptocurrency. Just a mention of bitcoin appears enough to woo investors and get media attention (including, now, this story).
