BiOptix Inc. (NASDAQ:BIOP) Is A Brand New Bitcoin Play

The bitcoin space continues to dominate headlines across all areas of the technological and financial markets right now and here at Insider Financial we've done our best to keep our readers informed as to which publicly traded entities offer the best potential exposure to the sector.A new one just came onto our radar and we think it is well worth checking out.The company is BiOptix Inc. (NASDAQ:BIOP).The guys behind this one are the same team that bought out Polarityte Inc (NASDAQ:COOL) and pivoted the company into a regenerative medicine play. This pivot happened at the end of last year and Polarityte is currently trading for a 724% premium to its 2017 open price. BIOP Daily ChartThis time around, they've bought BiOptix and are pivoting it into a bitcoin and blockchain stock. As per the most recent news from the company, the name will change from BiOptix to Riot Blockchain and the ticker will change to RIOT, with the company remaining on the NASDAQ subsequent to the alterations.From an operational perspective, Riot Blockchain is going to be a sort of holding company or fund type entity, investing in bitcoin and blockchain companies across all areas of the sector in return for stakes in said companies.We have often said that an investor who didn't want to buy bitcoin directly but still wanted to profit from the rising price of the underlying asset could pick up a public market exposure, since many of said exposures have risen in line with bitcoin throughout the course of 2017. However, we have also said that picking the right one can be tough and the uncertainty surrounding operational activity in the space for many of the companies makes this sort of approach a risky one. With its strategic investment approach, Riot Blockchain offers a sort of best of both worlds exposure – a bitcoin and blockchain allocation that is likely going to rise in line with an increase in price of the underlying asset as well as a diversification across numerous companies in the space by way of its own diversification across the portfolio of companies that it is invested in.The first of its investments is in a company called Coinsquare, which is a Canada-based bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange. In an interview with Bloomberg, CEO Michael Beeghley said that Riot had paid a few million dollars for a 12% stake in the exchange and there is the potential to increase the stake going forward to a maximum of 20% associated with the deal.Right now, Riot is trading for $8.18 a share – a nearly 60% premium on the price at which the company opened this week.The question now is, what's next? Can we expect more of the same?We think so. Coinsquare is a respected and growing exchange in the Canadian markets and makes for, in our opinion, a smart first exposure for Riot Blockchain. As the company expands its portfolio across alternative entities in the blockchain space it's going to start drawing speculative attention as an entity that offers exactly what we described above – a publicly traded exposure to a diverse base of bitcoin and blockchain companies.As ever, there is a dilution risk associated with an investment at this point.If Riot Blockchain is going to continue to make investments in the sector, it's going to need cash and it's almost certainly going to get this cash from equity raises. There's also the potential for share-driven deals, which again, would likely be dilutive to an early-stage shareholder.With that said, however, this is an incredibly fast-growing industry and so long as management can pick its exposures carefully, there's plenty of room for growth that can outweigh any negative impact brought about by dilutive equity issues.We will be updating our subscribers as soon as we know more. For the latest updates on BIOP, sign up below!Image courtesy of Vitalij Fleganov via FlickrDisclosure: We have no position in BIOP and have not been compensated for this article.