This Iced Tea Company Pivoted to Blockchain. Now its Stock is Up 200%

There’s a new leader in the sweepstakes for the zaniest name change in the crypto craze.

Long Island Iced Tea Corp. shares rose six-fold after rebranding itself Long Blockchain Corp. It’s the latest in a near-daily phenomenon sweeping the stock market, where obscure microcap companies reorient to focus on some aspect of the mania sparked by bitcoin’s 1,600 percent rally this year.

Long Blockchain, whose business has been selling non-alcoholic beverages, says it will now seek to partner with or invest in companies that develop the decentralized ledgers known as blockchain, the technology that underpins bitcoin.

As with many of the recently christened crypto companies — a list that includes former makers of juice, sports bras and sofas — Long Blockchain so far has little to show for its aspirations. It has no agreements with any blockchain firms, and says “there is no assurance that a definitive agreement with these, or any other entity, will be entered into or ultimately consummated.”

It has reserved the web domain name http://www.longblockchain.com and will still operate a ready-to-drink beverage subsidiary.