More companies are gripped by crypto mania

Digital currencies have hit the mainstream, with acceptance by international brands. Until now large companies, but not ones with well-known names, have managed to greatly increase returns using a blockchain, or introducing a digital currency. Over the last seven days, four high-profile brands have jumped on the cryptocurrency bandwagon: Eastman Kodak Co, Seagate Technology Plc, Western Union and Helios and Matheson Analytics, better known for its majority ownership in the brand MoviePass Inc, a film subscription service. The gates were opened for these major international corporations by smaller companies, such as Long Island Iced Tea Corp. A manufacturer of iced tea drinks, Long Island saw its share value triple when it became Long Blockchain. Overall there has been a rush from smaller cryptocurrency rivals including Ripple, and others such as Bitcoin Cash, looking to cash in on the craze. Bitcoin is still the largest and most well known of the cryptocurrencies, but it will find it hard to match the massive 1,400% gain it saw over the last 12 months. When Eastman Kodak announced last week that it would introduce Kodakcoin, describing it as a photo-centric cryptocurrency, its shares doubled in value, an increase of 70%. Just by admitting in an interview for Yahoo Finance that it has been looking at Blockchain technology would definitely consider at a coin offering, Helios and Matheson Analytics saw a jump in their stock at pre-market of 12%. Seagate Technology Plc is best known for the hard drives it manufactures for computers. It is no stranger to new and disruptive technologies. All it took was a mention in a blog that Seagate may be investing in Ripple, the number three cryptocurrency, and the technology giant’s shares went up by 16%. Despite a refusal by Western Union to comment on the story, a rumour that appeared on Ripple News claiming that the firm best known for its international money transfers may also be connected to the cryptocurrency resulted in a share increase of 6.1%. Even more remarkable is Western Union’s biggest increase in two years. Original Image Source: Wikipedia Commons Sponsored by