Digital asset company Bakkt has completed the acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure company Distributed Technologies Research (DTR) through an equity-based transaction as part of its efforts to build a digital payments layer.
Akshay Naheta, CEO of Bakkt, said on Thursday that the deal aims to combine Bakkt’s institutional infrastructure with DTR’s native artificial intelligence payment engine and stablecoin technology to create a 24/7 digital payments layer.
“The structure of money movements rarely evolves to this level,” he says. “This transaction accelerates the replatforming of global financial infrastructure. By fully integrating DTR’s technology, we are introducing stablecoin functionality as a critical bridge between the traditional financial system and the next generation of digital assets.”
The global stablecoin market has grown to around $320 billion, and adoption is growing in both developed and emerging countries as banks and institutions look to leverage the technology for faster payments and other benefits.
sauce: bakkt
Acquisition transaction completed through stock issue
As part of the transaction, Bakkt will issue more than 11.3 million shares to DTR units, with an additional 725,592 shares potentially on the way, according to the announcement.
The deal was first revealed in January and initially included 9.3 million shares. At the same time, the company also announced a change of trade name to Bakkt Co., Ltd.
Ahead of the deal’s completion, Bakkt stock (BKKT) fell approximately 8% to $7.86 by Wednesday’s close, but recovered to $8.62 by Thursday’s market close.
Bakkt stock fell on Wednesday, but has since risen 10%. sauce: Google Finance
Bakkt could be delisted in 2024
Founded in 2018, Bakkt is 55% owned by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which also owns the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and is backed by key partners including Starbucks and Mastercard.
In March 2024, the company disclosed to regulators that there were “significant uncertainties related to expanding into new markets and growing its revenue base, given the uncertain and rapidly evolving environment associated with crypto assets.”
The New York Stock Exchange threatened to delist Bakkt stock by March 2024 after the price fell below $1 and remained there for 30 days.
A few months later, reports said Donald Trump’s media and technology group, Trump Media, was in talks to buy the company, but no deal was ultimately reached.
The company has since launched multiple funding rounds through stock sales, with the latest aiming to raise $48 million in February.
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