Under this setup, Bakkt keeps control over its own payment product. It also gains a path to the counterparties already active on Fireblocks’ network.
The integration is meant to help Bakkt extend its payment corridors. A corridor is simply a route money travels, such as from one country or currency to another. More corridors means more places Bakkt can move funds for clients.
Bakkt can also manage its payment operations from a single console.
According to the announcement, Bakkt worked to integrate its payment technology stack over the prior month.
Sam Auch, Senior Vice President of Commercial U.S. at Bakkt, said the integration streamlines the company’s services. In his view, it gives clients one unified platform for distribution and connectivity.
A partnership that started with custody
This is not a first date. Bakkt and Fireblocks have been working together since 2023.
That year, Bakkt chose to rebuild its custody infrastructure using Fireblocks’ multi-party computation (MPC) key management and its policy controls. The research describes this as an on-prem MPC deployment.
The relationship deepened in 2025. Bakkt added the Fireblocks Trust Company, a qualified custodian regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), to secure long-term assets.
So the progression runs from custody technology in 2023, to regulated custody in 2025, to payments in 2026. Each step moved Bakkt further into Fireblocks’ infrastructure.
Where DTR fits in
The payments business Bakkt is plugging in did not exist in its current form a year ago. Bakkt acquired Distributed Technologies Research (DTR), an EU-based payments infrastructure provider, in early 2026.
That acquisition gave Bakkt a payments platform to build on. The Fireblocks integration now gives that platform a much larger network to sell into.
