Tiny US soft drinks firm changes name to cash in on bitcoin mania

Long Island Iced Tea Corp's shares jump 432% after new name includes word 'blockchain', the currency's ledger technology

Shares in a tiny US soft drinks firm, Long Island Iced Tea Corp, have quadrupled in value in just one day after it changed its name to Long Blockchain Corporation, the latest move by a string of obscure companies rebranding themselves in an attempt to ride the bitcoin bubble.

The small business, which produces a range of soft drinks on Long Island, said it was still going to continue making the iced tea-based drinks but was "shifting its primary corporate focus towards the exploration of and investment in opportunities that leverage the benefits of blockchain technology".