Tobacco company makes a hard pivot to cryptocurrency mining
Rich Cigars just made the ultimate pivot: from high-end cigars and tobacco products to cryptocurrency.
The Miami-based company announced Thursday it had become Intercontinental Technology, Inc., and was phasing out the cigar part of the business -- aka its entire premise.
Instead the company is jumping into two very not tobacco-related industries: patents and "aggressive cryptocurrency mining." And it initially seems to be paying off.
With Bitcoin, Ethereum, LiteCoin and other cryptocurrencies rallying like crazy in the past few days this seems like a smart move. Who needs a fancy cigar when there's Bitcoin to be mined at nearly $17,000 per coin?
The seemingly random pivot attracted some attention online. One person called the move "insanity at the very best."
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The new cryptocurrency business closed way up following the news of the massive business shift.
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DJ Khaled was a fanboy of the cigars. In a video from April he's on a plane asking for a Rich Cigar and then presented with a box. He was reportedly an ambassador for the brand. No word yet if the music producer is following the company into the crypto-mines.
Cryptocurrency mining may be lucrative in the short-term, but keep an eye on Intercontinental Technology. They are bullish on cryptocurrency's staying power, but it might be a close-but-no-cigar situation.
Topics Cryptocurrency
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
