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(Reuters) – Shares of Siebert Financial Corp, a small 50-year-old New York brokerage firm, doubled on Thursday on plans to expand in cryptocurrency trading, in the latest case of an investor frenzy on the burning market of virtual currencies.
The gains pushed Siebert’s market value to $ 250 million from $ 114 million on Wednesday, with shares changing hands in volumes not seen since 1999.
Siebert is teaming up with Overstock.com to offer deep discounts on trading US stocks, with plans to eventually expand blockchain and cryptocurrency trading.
Shares of Overstock, an early proponent of the cryptocurrency, have more than tripled in value this year.
Cryptocurrencies have taken the investment world by storm this year. Bitcoin, the best-known cryptocurrency, grew by just 1,700% in 2017.
Many other blockchain and cryptocurrency-related stocks have mirrored bitcoin’s gains, reaching new highs several times this year.
Siebert Financial was founded in 1967 by Muriel Siebert, the first woman to have a seat on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company’s shares rose 87% to $ 9.69 on Thursday afternoon, after hitting $ 11.33, their highest level since 2000.
Report by Sweta Singh in Bengaluru; edited by Sai Sachin Ravikumar
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