(Newser) – A New York-based company saw its shares spike nearly 500% in pre-market trading Thursday after announcing its new focus would be exploring and investing in the technology that underpins cryptocurrencies like bitcoin—which wouldn't be so remarkable but for the fact that it previously made a name for itself selling iced tea. Formerly called the Long Island Iced Tea Corp, the newly-named Long Blockchain Corp hasn't actually explained what it plans to do with blockchain technology, per CNBC. However, "we view advances in blockchain technology as a once-in-a-generation opportunity, and have made the decision to pivot our business strategy in order to pursue opportunities in this evolving industry," the company's CEO, Philip Thomas, says in a release.

Thomas adds the company—valued at $24 million on Wednesday, per Reuters—will continue to make non-alcoholic iced teas and lemonades. But it will be "shifting its primary corporate focus" and is "in the preliminary stages of evaluating specific opportunities involving blockchain technology." The release includes a caveat: There's no guarantee any agreement with any blockchain-related entity "will be entered into or ultimately consummated," it reads, per Bloomberg. Long Blockchain’s shares jumped 482% in pre-market trading Thursday following its announcement, per MarketWatch. Shares are sitting at 183% above Wednesday's price, as of this writing. (All that stands between this man and his $127 million bitcoin fortune is a landfill.)

