Bakkt Holdings, a company specializing in crypto custody and trading, has appointed a new co-CEO and announced the reduction of certain services to hone in on its cryptocurrency offerings following the recent departure of two key clients.
Akshay Naheta, the founder of the stablecoin payment infrastructure company Distributed Technologies Research (DTR), will join current CEO Andy Main in this dual leadership role, as reported on March 19.
The firm also revealed plans to collaborate with DTR to incorporate its stablecoin-based payment solutions with Bakkt’s crypto trading and brokerage technology, pending regulatory approval.
This partnership is expected to create new revenue opportunities in the domain of stablecoin payments and cryptocurrency trading, as well as enhance efficiency in cross-border transactions, which is a growing application for crypto.
Naheta founded DTR in 2022 following a nearly six-year tenure in various executive positions at the investment management powerhouse SoftBank Group, known for its investments in crypto companies.
In a separate communiqué detailing its fourth quarter and annual results for 2024, Bakkt expressed a desire to “concentrate resources on key crypto offerings” and hinted at the possibility of selling or discontinuing its loyalty services division, which provides clients with travel and merchandise rewards.
Bakkt recently shared its insights on stablecoins in light of its partnership with DTR. Source: Bakkt
Additionally, Bakkt announced it would sell its crypto custody subsidiary, Bakkt Trust, to its parent company for $1.5 million, a move expected to reduce operating costs by $3.8 million annually and allocate around $3 million for investment in its crypto initiatives.
The company affirmed that it would continue to offer custody solutions through a strong network of trusted custody providers.
This restructuring follows Bakkt’s notification on March 17 regarding the non-renewal of contracts by prominent clients Bank of America and trading platform Webull, which will expire in April and June, respectively.
In 2023 and 2024, Bank of America accounted for roughly 16% of Bakkt’s loyalty services revenue, while Webull made up 74% of its crypto revenue during that same timeframe.
This announcement negatively impacted Bakkt’s share price, which plummeted over 27% to $9.33 on March 18.
Bakkt Enhances Earnings Performance
On March 19, Bakkt reported that its total revenues for 2024 reached $3.49 billion, reflecting an increase of nearly 350% year-over-year, while its annual net loss was approximately halved to $103.4 million.
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Revenue in the fourth quarter surged more than sevenfold from the prior year, totaling $1.8 billion, while the net loss decreased to $40.4 million.
Looking ahead, the company projected revenues between $1.03 billion and $1.28 billion for the first quarter of 2025, marking nearly a 50% increase compared to the first quarter of 2024.
Shares of Bakkt (BKKT) closed flat at $9.31 on March 19 after dipping to $8.50 during trading, but reached a peak of $9.88 post-bell before stabilizing near the closing price, according to Google Finance.
Bakkt shares remained mostly stable on March 19 after settling post-bell. Source: Google Finance
Bakkt has seen a decline of nearly 62.5% this year and has significantly diminished in value since reaching over $1,000 in October 2021.
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