Bakkt, a publicly-traded company that provides software solutions for companies whose services involve trading and owning cryptocurrencies – as well as redeeming loyalty points in a manner not necessarily related to crypto – has announced that it may not have enough cash reserves to stay in business for the next 12 months.
The company was founded by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which also owns the New York Stock Exchange, and later started having its shares traded publicly. According to a statement from 2021 – the year that Bakkt went public – the ICE still owns a 68% stake in the company.
Constantly Changing Mission
The company was first founded in 2018 to allow Starbucks and other corporations to accept crypto as payment from customers. At the time, Bakkt was heralded as the entity to introduce large businesses to Bitcoin, allowing them to buy crypto in a way the board of investors would approve.
The firm quickly grew, offering services to more and more companies, finally culminating in the introduction of a digital wallet in 2021.
However, the wallet did not last long. In February of 2023, Bakkt announced that it would be terminating service for the app in order to focus on business-to-business solutions instead.
“As we continue to gain traction with our B2B2C strategy, we are laser-focused on providing our partners and clients with seamless solutions that best serve their needs. The discontinuation of the app ensures we are supporting the relationship our partners and clients have with their customers. With this move, we are focusing our investment on our core solutions that have product-market fit and are positioned to scale quickly.”
This strategy, however, seems to have failed – as a new notice to the SEC shows.
Amended Quarterly Report
According to an amendment submitted by Bakkt to its quarterly report to the SEC, the firm is temporarily strapped for cash and warns the agency that it may not be able to continue operating for the next 12 months or more.
“There is significant uncertainty associated with our expansion to new markets and the growth of our revenue base given the rapidly evolving environment associated with crypto assets.”
According to a now-deleted post on X, Bakkt has submitted an S-3 form that – if approved – would allow it to sell up to $150 million in equity, which should let it stay in business.
It’s unclear whether the deletion was due to this information being something better kept private or if other factors were at play.
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