If you want to get into Bitcoin speculation but don’t have a lot of cash to throw around, check out Bitcoin Shop, Inc., the first publicly traded company with “Bitcoin” in its name in the US.
If you aren’t too up on mergers and acquisitions, the story of how Bitcoin Shop, Inc. came into being is kind of hard to follow, but we can help: The owners of BitcoinShop.us, an online store that accepts Bitcoins, merged with TouchIT Technologies Inc., a Nevada-based company, and changed its name to Bitcoin Shop, Inc.
That’s known as a “reverse merger,” but that’s not important. The new company filed with the Securities Exchange Commission, and it will soon get a new stock symbol to reflect the name (the old one it inherited was TUCND; the new one will be BTCS as of March 5.
The company ended up raising $1,875,000 by selling Series C preferred stock and warrants to a handful of investors.
When news of the deal came out at the end of last week, stock prices surged about 40%, from $3.31 to Friday’s high of $5.26.
If you are a trader, Bitcoin Shop, Inc. is worth keeping an eye on because its stock prices could largely mimic the volatility of its namesake currency. Over the weekend, Bitcoin’s value against the dollar dropped from around the $800 mark to around the $700 mark due in large part to problems at the Mt.Gox exchange.
It’s worth ollowing TUCND on stock exchanges Monday to see whether that stock reflects Bitcoin’s busy weekend. With prices at around $5 per share, that makes for some gentler waves to ride.