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  • Betavoltaic Battery: It's probably a pump and dump scam

    John Biggs

    Biggs is the East Coast Editor of TechCrunch. Biggs has written for the New York Times, InSync, USA Weekend, Popular Mechanics, Popular Science, Money and a number of other outlets on technology and wristwatches. He is the former editor-in-chief of Gizmodo.com and lives in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. You can Tweet him here and G+ him here. Email him directly at... → Learn More

    Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007


    I had a moment to mull over this “30-year laptop battery story” and I’m slowly coming to the conclusion that it’s a pump and dump scheme of nefarious proportions. Penny stock companies that promise “unlimited energy” and “cures for cancer” often try to build a case for their stock by getting a piece in the legitimate media. As this is getting harder — there’s so little legitimate media anymore! — they may have found a receptive and gullible audience, us bloggers.

    Searching for Betavoltaic, I found lots of companies in the space that are trading in the pennies. This means it’s in someone’s best interest to raise that price by a few cents, dump, and watch as it settles into oblivion. I want to believe this is possible as well, but I there is little corroborating evidence.

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