KodakCoin: Kodak Stock Price Jumps After Announcing Cryptocurrency Launch

Kodak, the struggling American photography company, saw its stock price more than double in value Tuesday after it announced that it would be launching its own cryptocurrency called KodakCoin.

Kodak stock started the day at $3.10 but jumped as high as $7.47 after it made public in a press release its intention to launch its very own cryptocurrency that will be targeted at photographers.

KodakCoin will be a partnership between Kodak and WENN Digital, which will license to the company a system that will be used to manage the digital image rights of photos and create new streams of revenue for photographers.

The partnership encompasses two prongs: KodakOne and KodakCoin. KodakOne will use blockchain technology to create an encrypted digital ledger that will allow photographers to register their work and license it out to others.

The second part of the platform is KodakCoin, the cryptocurrency that Kodak has invented to develop a “new economy for photography.” The digital token will be used to pay photographers—professional and amateur—for work that is licensed out to other sources.

While it’s not clear if Kodak’s blockchain-backed system will truly represent the future of photography, it has produced a short-term boost to a company that was in need of one. Kodak has had a rough go of things in the digital era and had to file for bankruptcy in 2012 . It sold off many of its patents at that time.

Kodak CEO Jeff Clarke dismissed the idea that Kodak is simply taking advantage of the current cryptocurrency trend. In a statement, the company’s chief executive said, “For many in the tech industry, ‘blockchain’ and ‘cryptocurrency’ are hot buzzwords, but for photographers who’ve long struggled to assert control over their work and how it’s used, these buzzwords are the keys to solving what felt like an unsolvable problem.

Clarke said, “Kodak has always sought to democratize photography and make licensing fair to artists. These technologies give the photography community an innovative and easy way to do just that.”

WENN Digital CEO Jan Denecke said KodakCoin will be “subject to the highest standards of compliance” and is “all about paying photographers fairly and giving them an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a new economy tailored for them, with secure asset rights management built right in.”

Kodak is just the latest company to capitalize on the cryptocurrency craze. Last wek, Chanticleer Holdings—the parent company to several Hooters locations and other chain restaurants—experienced a massive jump in its stock price after publishing a press release that contained the word “blockchain.” The company’s stock jumped as much as 50 percent , climbing as high as $4.29 per share in an instant.

Last month, Long Island Iced Tea Corporation saw its stock price skyrocket after it announced that it would change its name to Long Blockchain Corporation—a move that saw its stock skyrocket by more than 225 percent.

A small financial technology company called LongFin also managed to have its stock surge by 2,600 percent after announcing it was getting into the business of cryptocurrencies.