Another big-time offender is Riot Blockchain ( RIOT -6.36% ), a small-cap blockchain technology company that's risen more than 250% this year solely because of a name change. In fact, it just so happened to be the second name change in less than a year. Formerly known as Venaxis, the company changed its name in November 2016 to Bioptix, with its only true asset being intellectual property rights related to veterinary products. On Oct. 4, 2017, it changed its name again to Riot Blockchain and announced an investment in Canadian digital currency exchange Coinsquare.