Ex-Iced Tea Maker Long Blockchain Is Buying Bitcoin Miners Now

The former beverage company is buying $4.2 million of AntMiner gear and setting up a mining facility in a Nordic country, according to an SEC filing.

AccessTimeIconJan 5, 2018 at 6:33 p.m. UTC
Updated Aug 18, 2021 at 7:51 p.m. UTC

Presented By Icon

Election 2024 coverage presented by

Stand with crypto

Long Blockchain Corp. the former beverage company that announced a pivot to blockchain technology last month, is now planning to enter the bitcoin mining business, a new filing shows.

According to a filing with the Securities Exchange Commission on Jan. 5, Long Blockchain Corp, the publicly traded company that was rebranded from Long Island Iced Tea, is in the process of purchasing 1,000 units of AntMiner S9 manufactured by the China-based Bitmain.

  • Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
    13:18
    Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
  • Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
    05:10
    Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
  • The first video of the year 2024
    04:07
    The first video of the year 2024
  • The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
    40:07
    The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
  • This move came just weeks after the firm announced its business pivot, which caused its stock price at the U.S. exchange NASDAQ to surge nearly 200 percent. Similar trends in market euphoria were also seen for other public stocks that announced business strategy shifts to areas related to blockchain.

    In a press release, Long Blockchain said the mining facilities would be located in a Nordic country, without specifying which one. But the agreement included in the SEC filing includes a hint: It states that the vendor will notify the purchaser when the products arrive in Iceland.

    Further, the purchase price will be $4.2 million, which includes $2.9 million cash as well as an issuance of 260,000 shares of Long Blockchain's common stock. It is not clear from the filing whether Long Blockchain is buying the equipment directly from Bitmain or from a third party.

    According to the document, this purchase is scheduled to close by Jan. 31 only if Long Blockchain Corp. is able to obtain the required financing before that.

    As such, Long Blockchain announced in the same document it is issuing additional 1.6 million shares of common stock at a public offering price of $5.25 per share, aiming to raise approximately $7.7 million in net proceeds.

    Philip Thomas, CEO of Long Blockchain Corp. said in the announcement:

    "We view this transaction as an important and validating initial step in the Company’s progression into blockchain technology. The commencement of our mining operations places us on a path to generating blockchain-related revenue through the accumulation of bitcoin."

    Mining chip image via CoinDesk's archive.

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information have been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.