Blockchain Boosts Longfin Shares From $5 To $126 In A Week

Longfin, a small startup focused on financial tech, has seen its stock price skyrocket since it started trading last week.

According to Fortune, New York-based Longfin started trading on the NASDAQ last week at $5. But after announcing on Friday that it acquired startup Ziddu.com, which uses the blockchain ledger accounting technology from digital currencies to make small loans, Longfin saw its stock price more than quadruple to almost $24 a share.

On Monday, the stock hit a high of almost $143. In mid-afternoon trading on the same day, the stock was at $126.66, and Bloomberg reported that the company’s stock market worth hit $7 billion.

Longfin was formed as a company in February, with plans to create new trading systems for financial and physical commodities. For the first six months of 2017, Longfin reported revenue of $28 million and net income of $2 million.

The rapid rise of Longfin is proof that investors want to get in on anything related to digital currencies. The price of bitcoin, the most popular and highly valued digital currency, hit over $19,000 on Monday, up from less than $10,000 at the end of November and under $1,000 at the start of the year.

Other stocks of small, cryptocurrency-related companies have also seen rapid growth in value in recent months. Riot Blockchain, which says it is applying the digital currency ledger technology to the biotech market, has gained over 700 percent in the past three months. And Marathon Patent Group, which owns some blockchain-related intellectual property, has gained over 300 percent.