Trump’s media group looks to buy Bakkt crypto exchange

Truth Social’s parent company Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) is reportedly looking to acquire crypto exchange Bakkt.

The two companies are in advanced talks pertaining to the acquisition, according to a recent Financial Times report. The potential deal is all-stock and would see TMTG acquire Bakkt and absorb its $150 million market cap.

This is just the latest crypto move by the United States president-elect. Trump — who is also behind troubled decentralized finance project World Liberty Financial (WLF) — is now expected to place pro-cryptocurrency officials in the Securities and Exchange Commission and propose crypto-friendly regulations. Furthermore, he even proposed the creation of a U.S. Bitcoin reserve if elected.

TMTG reports minimal revenue, but boasts $6 billion worth of equity valuation thanks to retail investor interest after Republican candidate Donald Trump was re-elected as the next president of the United States. This led to many speculating that the platform having ties to the president-elect would lead to market advantages and growth.

SEC filings indicate that TMTG lost $73 million from February 2022, when it launched Truth Social, until November 2023. More recent reports indicate that in this year’s second quarter, the social media platform lost $16.4 million.

Bakkt was founded by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) — the owner of derivative exchanges and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The initial objective of the firm was to allow Starbucks customers to buy their coffee with Bitcoin (BTC).

The company has a troubled past. Bakkt introduced a digital wallet back in 2021, discontinued it in 2023, and is now focused on custody and trading services. Earlier this year, the company revealed that it might not have enough liquidity to cover the next year of operations.

Market data shows that Bakkt shares jumped from $11.43 to $32.66 at the time of writing. This is equivalent to a 186% price increase in a little over a trading day.

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