Crypto finserv firm Bakkt to soon trade publicly on New York Stock Exchange

Bakkt Holdings, the digital assets management arm of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), has announced it will soon become a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange, starting Oct. 18. 

The public listing for Bakkt comes as a result of a merger with VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings, a Chicago-based special purpose acquisition company. According to an official statement, a shareholders meeting regarding the merger saw approximately 85.1% approval for the business combination:

“Upon closing, the combined company’s Class A common stock and warrants are expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the ticker symbols “BKKT” and “BKKT WS” respectively.”

Additionally, the business combination resulted in gross proceeds of approximately $448 million to Bakkt, which it plans to reinvest in growing the company’s capabilities and partnerships.

Just last week, Bakkt announced a partnership with Google to allow the purchase of goods and services using Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies via the Google Pay platform. According to Bakkt CEO Gavin Michael, the partnership “is a testament to Bakkt’s strong position in the digital asset marketplace, to empower consumers to enjoy their digital assets in a real-time, secure, reliable manner.”

Back in March, Bakkt launched a payments app that allows users to make purchases via cryptocurrencies, prior to which the exchange offered BTC futures contracts exclusively to accredited investors.

Related: US lawmaker proposes safe harbor for digital tokens in new bill

Meanwhile, mainstream crypto adoption in the United States continues to see increased support from lawmakers as a new bill demands a safe harbor for certain token projects.

A new draft bill proposed by Representative Patrick McHenry, “Clarity for Digital Tokens Act of 2021,” suggests an amendment to the Securities Act of 1933 to allows projects to offer tokens without registering for up to three years.

The bill was based on an older initiative from SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce highlighting that “safe harbor could be the most groundbreaking development for the U.S. cryptocurrency market to date.”