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Zombie Crypto Stocks Resurface as Bitcoin Stages July Recovery

Zombie Crypto Stocks Resurface as Bitcoin Stages July Recovery

(Bloomberg) -- Crypto stocks, the darlings of late last year that quickly lost their luster, may be rising from the dead.

Scores of small firms rebranded with blockchain at the end of 2017 to boost their share prices, only to see their market values languish when the Bitcoin bubble burst. Now, as the top digital token stages a comeback, some of these stocks are once again mimicking moves of the biggest cryptocurrency.

Zombie Crypto Stocks Resurface as Bitcoin Stages July Recovery

Bitcoin has rallied more than 30 percent in July, shrugging off security and regulatory concerns that have plagued the virtual currency for much of this year. Shares of Marathon Patent Group Inc., a firm that opened a Bitcoin mining facility in Quebec, have posted a comparable gain this month. Riot Blockchain Inc., a former machinery maker for the biotech industry, saw its stock surge nearly 40 percent when Bitcoin jumped on July 17, lifting it to little changed for the month. NXT-ID Inc. shares rose as much as 5.1 percent Monday after the company said it’s marketing a crypto-payments device with rapper Lil’ Flip.

--With assistance from Brad Olesen.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lily Katz in New York at lkatz31@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at clarkin4@bloomberg.net, Dave Liedtka

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