Trump Media in "Advanced Talks" to Buy Crypto Trading Platform Bakkt

Donald Trump’s social media company, Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), is in advanced discussions to acquire cryptocurrency trading platform, Bakkt.

Owned by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the US-based platform saw its stock price surge 162% on the news and even higher in after-hours trading. TMTG saw its stock price rise 16.65%.

TMTG is best known for operating Truth Social but the deal reflects TMTG’s ambition to expand its business beyond online social media conversations. With Bakkt's stock price surge, the platform's market cap is over $400 million.

Trump has pledged to retain his 53% ownership stake in TMTG, which had revenues of $2.6 million this year with a whopping equity valuation of $6 billion. Its equity makes up over half of Trump’s estimated $5.7 billion wealth.

However, Bakkt has faced profitability challenges since its inception and its crypto custody business is excluded from the acquisition due to its operating losses of $27,000 against $328,000 in revenue last quarter. Earlier this year, Bakkt implemented a 1-for-25 reverse stock split to avoid delisting from the NYSE.

Bakkt is shifting towards creating a trading platform for institutional investors. Its first CEO, Kelly Loeffler, is a former Republican senator and a prominent Trump ally. Andy Main has been serving as the firm's CEO since March 2024. His previous stints include the former global CEO of Ogilvy and former global CEO of Deloitte Digital.