Bitcoin Shop Inc., an online retailer, became the first U.S. publicly traded company with the word “bitcoin” in its name, a hallmark for a virtual currency whose rapid growth has spawned intense regulatory scrutiny. Bitcoin Shop, which sells everything from soap to cellphones and takes bitcoin for payment, executed what is known as a reverse merger, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. According to filings, the company that runs BitcoinShop.us merged with TouchIT Technologies Inc., based in Nevada. TouchIT then changed its name to Bitcoin Shop Inc. Old news releases from TouchIT described it as a touch-based visual-communication-products company. The company trades over the counter. At 4 p.m. EST, it fetched $3.31 a share on daily volume of 6,151 shares, according to OTCMarkets.com. [Source]

Watch an interview with the CEO on Bloomberg here.