Doubling down on its surprise pivot to blockchain technology, the former parent company of Long Island Iced Tea—now Long Blockchain Corp.—is buying a U.K. tech firm specializing in distributed ledger technology and cryptocurrency.
Farmingdale, N.Y.-based Long Blockchain has agreed to acquire Hashcove Ltd., a U.K. startup that plans to offer blockchain-based solutions including tokenized platforms, cryptocurrency exchanges and other financial clearing technology, according to a Thursday press release.
Long Blockchain’s stock shot up in December 2017 when the company announced its shift to blockchain. After news of the deal for Hashcove, the stock rose slightly on Nasdaq, where it’s hovered at about $3.50 a share in recent weeks following rumors that Nasdaq might
“To become both a platform company and a thought leader across the blockchain ecosystem, we must be relevant to the widest possible cross section of a potential client’s needs as they look to migrate processes to blockchain,” said Shamyl Malik, Long Blockchain’s CEO, who was hired late last year when the company changed its name.
The Hashcove-Long Blockchain deal will be “transformational,” Kunal Nadwani, a former BNP Paribas banking executive who co-founded Hashcove, said in the release.
Long Blockchain expects to complete a spinoff of Long Island Brand Beverages, its wholly owned subsidiary, by the end of next month, according to the company’s website.
