UPDATE — Long (Island) Blockchain: Iced tea company follows tech craze and pivots

Update: On Tuesday, Long Blockchain Corp reversed its decision to offer common stock, according to a company announcement. It still expects to buy 1,000 bitcoin mining rigs but the company cast doubt on whether it could “finance the purchase of the mining equipment.” After revealing its name change and new business focus in late December, the company experienced nearly a $70 million market capitalization, or 289% rise in stock, reports Bloomberg.

Dive Brief:

The New-York based parent company of Long Island Iced Tea announced plans to refocus its attention to the blockchain market, rebranding itself "Long Blockchain Corp.," according to press releases. The company will also continue its "ready-to-drink segment" of the business.
Long Blockchain Corp. is still in development, but is expected to pursue opportunities including building blockchain infrastructure or software for financial services. The company is also looking into platform for "smart" contracts for "building decentralized applications that provides scalability beyond" what is available now.
The company's stock rose 289% following the news, marking an 18-month high for the company, according to Nasdaq.

Dive Insight:

The hype surrounding blockchain may seem a bit misguided as about 90% of businesses still rely on centralized designs. The technology takes a lot of convincing to implement but despite reservations, interest in the ledger system persists.

Existing businesses, like Long Blockchain Corp., are leveraging their current reputations and assets to redirect focus on the blockchain market. Such actions are indicative of where business professionals are expecting the blockchain market to go – or at least where they want it to.

Other companies have pivoted their original business model to pursue blockchain and cryptocurrencies. The CryptoCompany emerged from a business that had formerly made parts of sports bras. Nodechain Inc., an e-cigarette maker, owns computers for cyrpoto mining, reports Bloomberg. Though evidence of blockchain-based business dealings is relatively small for some of these businesses, simply changing names or domain names was enough to skyrocket their market shares.

The market is still in its infancy and the winning blockchain platform has not yet emerged, as of now, the only two operational platforms available for users are Bitcoin and Ethereum. Implementing blockchain technologies could mean a complete overhaul of existing and legacy systems and how transactions are processed.

Additionally, its ability to "fully enable bold platform and ecosystem strategies" while defending against cyberattacks is a particular weak point in the technology. Despite this, by 2030, blockchain will have a $3.1 trillion business value-add.