(Reuters) - A slew of blockchain- and bitcoin-related stocks sank on Wednesday following a steep fall in the price of the cryptocurrency over the past few days on fears of regulatory clampdowns.
Bitcoin, which skyrocketed nearly 2,000 percent last year and hovered near a peak of $20,000, slipped below $10,000 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange on Wednesday, adding to a 20 percent slump over the last three days.
South Korea, Japan and China have all made noises about a regulatory swoop, and officials in France and the United States have vowed to investigate cryptocurrencies.
Shares of Riot Blockchain (O:RIOT), Marathon Patent (O:MARA), Longfin Corp (O:LFIN), Long Blockchain Corp (O:LBCC) and Social Reality Inc (O:SRAX) all fell more than 10 percent.
A number of these companies have changed their names and shifted their focus to cash in on the cryptocurrency wave.
Riot Blockchain, formerly a biotech company called Bioptix, shifted focus to become an investor in blockchain technology.
Long Blockchain was called Long Island Iced Tea Corp as recently as last month before it announced a change in its primary business strategy to blockchain technology from beverages.