Short-Sellers Pounce Ahead of KodakCoin’s ICO

• January 30 2018
• Lily Katz

The skeptics loaded up on negative bets against Eastman Kodak Co. when the once-dominant photography company filed for bankruptcy in 2012. Now they’re back with a vengeance as its successor prepares to move into the cryptocurrency world.

The skeptics loaded up on negative bets against Eastman Kodak Co. when the once-dominant photography company filed for bankruptcy in 2012. Now they’re back with a vengeance as its successor prepares to move into the cryptocurrency world.

About one-third of Kodak’s shares are traded as short positions, according to financial analytics firm S3 Partners. That compares with less than 8 percent on Jan. 8, the day before the Rochester, New York-based company said it would offer a digital token called KodakCoin and use blockchain technology to help photographers protect the rights to their work.

The company’s initial coin offering, which is set to begin at 6 p.m. New York time, has a $20 million fundraising goal. Kodak shares fell 4.4 percent to $9.18 as of 1:44 p.m. That’s still more than three times higher than before the ICO announcement.