Bakkt appoints new co-CEO amid renewed focus on cryptocurrency services

The custody company (custody) and cryptocurrency trading platform Bakkt Holdings have appointed a new CEO and reduced some of their services to focus on cryptocurrency products, after losing two major clients recently.

According to the announcement on March 19, Akshay Naheta – the founder of the stablecoin payment infrastructure company Distributed Technologies Research (DTR) will take on this role alongside Bakkt CEO Andy Main.

Akshay Naheta – CEO of Bakkt Bakkt also stated that it will sign an agreement with DTR to integrate DTR's stablecoin payment infrastructure into Bakkt's cryptocurrency trading and brokerage technology, subject to regulatory approval.

According to Bakkt, this partnership will open new revenue streams from stablecoin payments and cryptocurrency trading, while enhancing efficiency in cross-border transactions, a common use case for cryptocurrencies.

Naheta founded DTR in 2022 after nearly 6 years of working in executive positions at the investment management group SoftBank Group, a company with a history of investing in crypto companies.

In an announcement regarding its fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 financial results, Bakkt stated that it wants to "focus resources on core cryptocurrency products" and is considering selling or dissolving its loyalty program, which allows customers to provide offers on travel and goods.

Bakkt revealed that it will sell its cryptocurrency asset management subsidiary, Bakkt Trust, to its parent company Intercontinental Exchange for $1.5 million. This decision will help reduce operating costs by $3.8 million per year and free up about $3 million for investment in the crypto space.

The company will also maintain a custody solution "through a robust network of reputable custody service providers."

These moves come after Bakkt announced on March 17 that two of its major clients, Bank of America and the trading platform Webull, will not renew their contracts with the company when they expire in April and June.

Bank of America accounts for about 16% of Bakkt's loyalty services revenue in 2023 and 2024, while Webull accounts for 74% of Bakkt's cryptocurrency revenue during the same period.

This announcement caused Bakkt's stock price to plummet on March 18. At the end of the trading session, the stock price had decreased by more than 27%, down to $9.33.

Bakkt improves revenue and net profit

Bakkt reported on March 19 that total revenue in 2024 reached $3.49 billion, an increase of nearly 350% compared to the same period last year, while this year's net loss was halved to $103.4 million.

Quarter 4 revenue increased more than seven times compared to 2024, reaching 1.8 billion dollars, while net loss narrowed to 40.4 million dollars.

The company forecasts revenue of between $1.03 billion and $1.28 billion for the first quarter of 2025, an increase of nearly 50% compared to the first quarter of 2024.

Bakkt's stock (BKKT) closed stable at $9.31 on March 19 after dropping to $8.50 during trading. The stock reached a high of $9.88 after hours but stabilized back near the closing price, according to data from Google Finance.

Bakkt's stock price | Source: Google FinanceBakkt has decreased by nearly 62.5% this year and has essentially lost all its value since reaching a peak of over $1,000 in October 2021.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Investors should conduct thorough research before making decisions. We are not responsible for your investment decisions.

• Trump's media group is negotiating to acquire Bakkt from ICE.
• MELANIA's internal wallet continues to send tokens – Is it about to dump more?
• Top 3 notable Meme coins BNB in the last week of March

Dinh Dinh

@media only screen and (min-width: 0px) and (min-height: 0px) { div[id^="wrapper-sevio-d89f58f5-7b63-40be-98c0-6b1fd62584fb"] { width:320px; height: 100px; } } @media only screen and (min-width: 728px) and (min-height: 0px) { div[id^="wrapper-sevio-d89f58f5-7b63-40be-98c0-6b1fd62584fb"] { width: 728px; height: 90px; } }