Long Blockchain Corp. (formerly Long Island Iced Tea Corp.) is an American corporation based in Farmingdale, Long Island, New York. Its wholly owned subsidiary Long Island Brand Beverages, LLC produced ready-to-drink iced tea and lemonade under the "Long Island" brand. The company's first product was made available in 2011.

Long Blockchain Corp.
FormerlyLong Island Iced Tea Corp.
Company typePublic
  • OTC Pink No Information: LBCC (Securities registration revoked February 19, 2021)[1]
  • Nasdaq: LTEA
IndustryFood, blockchain
Headquarters,
United States
Key people
Bill Hayde (chairman)
RevenueDecrease $4,434,465[2] (2017)
Decrease ($15,215,659) (2017)
Total assetsDecrease $3,235,121 (2017)
Number of employees
Increase 25 (2017)

In 2017, the corporation rebranded as Long Blockchain Corp. as part of a corporate shift towards "exploration of and investment in opportunities that leverage the benefits of blockchain technology" and reported they were exploring blockchain-related acquisitions.[3]

On April 10, 2018, Long Blockchain received a letter stating that its stock would be delisted by the NASDAQ stock exchange. Its shares would subsequently be eligible for trades over the counter. The company had by that time abandoned its plans to purchase Bitcoin mining equipment.[4] Following the company's removal from NASDAQ, it traded over the counter.[5]

The SEC subpoenaed documents from the firm on July 10, 2018 in a move widely believed to be related to the name change. The FBI has looked for evidence "of insider trading and securities fraud connected to Long Island Iced Tea stock."[6] The firm stated that they were fully cooperating with the investigation.[7][8]

On February 22, 2021, the SEC delisted Long Blockchain Corp's shares, saying that the company had not filed financial reports since September 30, 2018, and that it never completed its planned transition to producing blockchain technology.[5]

In July 2021, SEC announced charges of insider trading against three major Long Blockchain investors who allegedly bought substantial numbers of shares which they sold after the stock gained as much as 380%. They allegedly had advance notice of the name change which preceded and caused the stock rise.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "SEC Charges Three Individuals with Insider Trading" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  2. ^ "LONG BLOCKCHAIN CORP. Form 10-K".
  3. ^ "Long Island Iced Tea Corp. to Rebrand as 'Long Blockchain Corp.'". Nasdaq. GlobeNewswire. December 21, 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  4. ^ Hankin, Aaron (April 11, 2018). "Nasdaq to delist Long Blockchain Corp, underlining fading bitcoin fervor". MarketWatch. MarketWatch, Inc. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Robinson, Matt (22 February 2021). "Crypto-Craze Icon Long Blockchain Has Shares Delisted by SEC". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  6. ^ Rohrlich, John Detrixhe, Justin (25 July 2019). "The FBI thinks Long Island Iced Tea's infamous blockchain pivot was part of a trading scam". Quartz. Retrieved 2021-03-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ McKay, Tom (1 August 2018). "'Long Blockchain' Maybe Not as Smart as It Thought". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  8. ^ Katz, Lily (2 August 2018). "Long Blockchain Gets Hit With SEC Subpoena After Nasdaq Ouster". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  9. ^ Egan, Matt (10 July 2021). "Insider trading charges filed over Long Island Iced Tea's blockchain 'pivot'". CNN.
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