"Blockchain technologies are creating a fundamental paradigm shift," company says.
The Long Island Iced Tea Corporation is exactly what it sounds like: a company that sells people bottled iced tea and lemonade. But today the company announced a significant change of strategy that would start with changing its name to "Long Blockchain Corporation."
The company was "shifting its primary corporate focus towards the exploration of and investment in opportunities that leverage the benefits of blockchain technology," the company said in a Thursday morning press release. "Emerging blockchain technologies are creating a fundamental paradigm shift across the global marketplace," the company said.
The stock market loved the announcement. Trading opened Thursday morning more than 200 percent higher than Wednesday night's closing price.
The company isn't getting out of the iced tea business. "The Company will continue to operate Long Island Brand Beverages, LLC as a wholly-owned subsidiary," the company writes in its press release.
The new blockchain efforts are only in their "preliminary stages," the press release says, and will likely involve investing or forming partnerships with other companies. One potential partner is providing "blockchain infrastructure for the financial services industry." Another is building a "new smart contract platform for building decentralized applications."
The former Long Island Iced Tea Company is following the lead of other companies that have seen their value skyrocket after announcing blockchain-related moves. One small financial technology company saw its value skyrocket after it announced a blockchain-related acquisition. In October, a biotech company saw its value skyrocket after it renamed itself "Riot Blockchain."
The move is reminiscent of the late 1990s, when companies could see their stock prices soar if they added ".com" to their names.