‘Riot Blockchain’: Biotech Company Stock Surges After Crypto Rebrand

Biotech company Bioptix Inc. (NASDAQ: BIOP) saw its stock surge following the announcement that it would rebrand as Riot Blockchain and shift its focus to cryptocurrency and blockchain-based investments.

Shares of Bioptix — a company that previously manufactured diagnostic machinery for the biotechnical industry — had traded between $ 4 and $ 4.50 for the majority of the previous month, but they soared above $ 9 on Wednesday immediately following the announcement that the Colorado firm would make the leap into the burgeoning cryptocurrency industry.

Chart from Google

“When I got on the board, they had made an acquisition that we decided as a board did not make sense, so we closed that down and then decided to change our focus,” Bioptix CEO Michael Beeghley told Bloomberg in a phone interview. “We looked at the sector and said, ‘How can we participate in this, and how can our shareholders participate in this very exciting industry that’s like the beginning of the internet?”

Consequently, Bioptix is completely shuttering its operations and liquidating its biotech patents as it transitions into Riot Blockchain. The first foray the revamped firm will make into the industry is a multi-million dollar investment in Coinsquare, a Canadian cryptocurrency exchange that currently ranks 82nd in total trading volume ($ 351,000 in the past day, according to CoinMarketCap).