President-elect Donald Trump’s Trump Media & Technology (TMTG) is reportedly in advanced talks to buy cryptocurrency trading venue Bakkt.
TMTG is near an all-share purchase of Bakkt, the Financial Times (FT) reported Monday (Nov. 18), citing unnamed sources.
The deal will not include Bakkt’s crypto custody business, which the firm has said it is likely to wind down, according to the report.
Neither Bakkt nor TMTG immediately replied to PYMNTS’ request for comment.
Bakkt was created by and is owned by Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, according to the report.
TMTG operates social media platform Truth Social, and an acquisition of Bakkt would move the company into new areas, the report said.
The firm has become one of the most actively traded stocks since Trump’s election victory, and it is now valued at $6 billion — enabling it to buy other companies, per the report.
It was reported in June that Bakkt was considering putting itself up for sale and has been working with a financial adviser to weigh strategic options, including a possible breakup.
In February, Bakkt said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): “We might not be able to continue as a going concern.”
Soon after, the company named Andy Main as its new CEO. Main announced that the proceeds from a capital raise and the company’s plan to reduce cash expenses and other related cost savings had “alleviated the conditions” that raised doubt about Bakkt’s future.
Trump’s election victory has led to continued enthusiasm for the advent of a pro-crypto White House and helped drive the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, bitcoin, to record highs after the election.
During the campaign, he pledged to turn the U.S. into the “crypto capital of the planet” and to establish a national bitcoin stockpile.
The president-elect has also been a vocal critic of SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who has taken a tough stance on the crypto industry. Trump’s promise to replace Gensler with a more crypto-sympathetic regulator has led to speculation that the SEC would take a more hands-off stance under a new chair.
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