Bakkt may go public through rumored $2B merger

Bakkt, a cryptocurrency trading platform majority-owned by Intercontinental Exchange, is rumored to be deep in discussions to go public through a merger with VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings.

On Jan. 7, Bloomberg published a story citing anonymous sources “with knowledge of the matter” who claimed Bakkt is already in advanced talks regarding the merger, predicting that an official announcement on the matter could be published as soon as next week.

The sources estimate the combined entity could be valued at more than $2 billion, should the merger be completed.

VPC is a special purpose acquisition company closely affiliated with Victory Park Capital — a Securities and Exchange Commission-registered alternative investment firm. VPC chief executive John Martin has described the firm’s core strategy as seeking to “identify, partner with and help grow a business in the fintech sector.”

Bakkt launched in 2019 and is an institutional-focused, regulated platform offering “physically-delivered” Bitcoin futures contracts. The exchange’s futures drove $286 million in trade volume over the past week.

Bakkt’s founding CEO and outgoing United States Senator, Kelly Loeffler, lost Georgia’s run-off election on Wednesday.