Shares of Powerbridge Technologies Co. Ltd. PBTS, +62.99% rocketed 52.0% on massive volume in morning trading Thursday, enough to make them the biggest gainers and most actively traded on major U.S. exchanges, after the China-based software company announced plans to engage in cryptocurrency mining. Trading volume swelled to already-a-record 111.8 million shares, compared with the full-day average of about 3.4 million shares. The company said earlier that it plans to invest and engage in the mining for bitcoin BTCUSD, -4.37% and Ethereum ETHUSD, -5.83%, with a plan for global operations. The company said it has assembled a team in cryptocurrency and technology to support its digital asset business. "We are optimistic about the positive outlook of the cryptocurrency market," said Chief Financial Officer Stewart Lor. "We believe our crypto mining business will generate valuable digital assets that help accelerate the company's growth." The stock has still slumped 17.9% year to date, while the iShares MSCI China ETF MCHI, -1.59% has lost 11.8% and the S&P 500 SPX, +0.02% has gained 18.3%.