Bakkt
The ICE-backed crypto venture that went from physically-settled bitcoin futures to a 2021 SPAC listing, then reinvented itself as a B2B2C stablecoin-infrastructure play — including acquiring a firm founded by its own CEO.
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- Country
- United States
- Launched
- 2018, with backing from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)
- Public listing
- October 2021, via SPAC merger (NYSE: BKKT)
- Original business
- Institutional custody and physically-settled bitcoin futures
- Strategic pivot
- B2B2C crypto infrastructure; DTR stablecoin acquisition (2026)
- Corporate name
- Bakkt, Inc. (from Bakkt Holdings, Inc., January 2026)
Overview
Bakkt is a U.S. cryptocurrency infrastructure company launched in 2018 with backing from Intercontinental Exchange — the operator of the New York Stock Exchange — as an institutional-grade platform for crypto custody and physically-settled bitcoin futures (The Block). In October 2021 it went public on the NYSE by merging with special-purpose acquisition company VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings — choosing the SPAC route where rival Coinbase had chosen a direct Nasdaq listing — with ICE holding about 68% economic interest and a minority voting interest in the combined company (Forkast).
From bitcoin futures to consumer crypto — and back to infrastructure
Bakkt’s first act was institutional: custody in hard wallets for large investors, evolving into a marketplace for bitcoin futures trading (Forkast). Its second act was consumer: a mobile app for spending bitcoin on everyday goods, a Visa debit card, and a Google partnership letting cardholders spend bitcoin anywhere accepting Google Pay while Bakkt built analytics on Google Cloud (Forkast).
The third act, beginning in 2025, was a deliberate unbuilding of the second. Bakkt pivoted to what The Block describes as a “B2B2C” turnkey operator — infrastructure for traditional institutions entering crypto rather than a consumer brand. It sold its loyalty rewards business, acquired money-transmitter licenses covering all 50 U.S. states to support crypto trading, transfers, and settlement, launched a bitcoin treasury financed through a public offering, and brought crypto veteran Mike Alfred onto its board (The Block).
The CEO’s own company — and the committee that approved buying it
The pivot’s centerpiece was a related-party transaction. In March 2025 Bakkt named Akshay Naheta — founder of stablecoin-infrastructure provider Distributed Technologies Research (DTR) — as co-CEO alongside a commercial partnership between the firms; Naheta later became sole CEO (The Block). Bakkt then agreed to acquire DTR outright, issuing over 9 million Class A shares to DTR’s shareholders — a deal in which the buyer was acquiring its own chief executive’s company. An independent special board committee of directors Colleen Brown and Mike Alfred approved the transaction, and ICE — by then holding about 31% of Bakkt’s Class A shares — agreed to vote for it (The Block). Naheta framed it as completing “the transformation of the company into a unified global financial infrastructure platform” for stablecoin settlement, payments, and banking use cases (The Block). In January 2026 the company simplified its name from Bakkt Holdings, Inc. to Bakkt, Inc. (The Block).
What this profile does not claim
This profile does not claim the DTR acquisition closed — only the announced agreement and approvals are stated. Deal valuations, the loyalty-business sale price, and treasury size are per company announcements as reported, not independently verified. ICE’s ownership stake has changed repeatedly through dilution and offerings; only the two dated figures are given. Earlier acquisitions (Rosenthal Collins Group assets, DACC, Bridge2 Solutions, Apex Crypto) were not verified from fully-read independent sources and are not stated. Nothing here is investment advice.
Timeline
- 2018
- Bakkt launches with support from NYSE operator ICE as an institutional-grade platform for custody and physically-settled bitcoin futures.
- 2021
- Bakkt goes public on the NYSE via merger with SPAC VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings; ICE holds ~68% economic interest. The company has by now added a consumer app, a Visa debit card, and a Google partnership.
- 2025
- Bakkt pivots to pure-play crypto infrastructure: it sells its loyalty rewards business, acquires money-transmitter licenses in all 50 states, launches a bitcoin treasury, and names Akshay Naheta co-CEO alongside a DTR partnership.
- 2026
- Bakkt agrees to acquire stablecoin-infrastructure firm Distributed Technologies Research — founded by its own CEO Naheta — in a share deal approved by an independent board committee; the company renames itself Bakkt, Inc.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- The 2025-2026 events (DTR deal terms, loyalty sale price, treasury size) are per The Block's reporting of company announcements; final closed terms were not independently verified.
- ICE's ownership percentage has declined over time through dilution (68% economic interest at listing vs. ~31% of Class A later); only the dated figures are stated.
- The Apex Crypto acquisition (2023) and earlier acquisitions (DACC, Bridge2 Solutions) appear in lead-index material but were not verified from fully-read independent sources and are not stated.
Sources
2 sources (2 tier 2), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
Built entirely from independent sources fetched and read in full: Forkast (tier2) for the SPAC listing and early business, and The Block (tier2) for the 2025-2026 strategic pivot and DTR acquisition. No first-party sources were used, per the standing editorial rule. Wikipedia was used only as a lead index and is not cited.
- Supports: NYSE listing via VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings SPAC, ICE 68% economic interest, 2018 custodian origins, bitcoin futures marketplace, Visa debit card, Google partnership Open original source
- Bakkt stock rallies 20% amid plans to acquire a stablecoin infra firm founded by Bakkt's co-CEO Tier 2Supports: DTR acquisition terms and related-party structure, Naheta CEO timeline, ICE 31% Class A and vote agreement, B2B2C pivot, loyalty sale, 50-state licenses, bitcoin treasury, 2018 ICE-backed futures origins, "Bakkt, Inc." rename Open original source
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