Trump Media Firm In Talks To Buy Crypto Platform Bakkt: Report

The president-elect’s Trump Media and Technology Group is in talks to buy digital asset marketplace Bakkt Holdings, according to an FT report citing sources familiar with the matter on November 19.

An all-stock acquisition by Trump’s social media company, which owns Truth Social, would solidify its position in the digital asset industry.

Bakkt is an institutional crypto asset platform backed by the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).

Trump’s social media group in talks to buy cryptocurrency trading site https://t.co/wYiaa6onuM

— Financial Times (@FT) November 18, 2024

More good news for Crypto

Bakkt shares jumped more than 160% when the news broke, while shares of Trump Media ended the day down nearly 17%. There were no details of the deal, but estimates circulated that it could be worth more than $100 million.

“The crypto scene is moving again,” commented Pepperstone Group head of research Chris Weston, who added that Trump Media’s play for Bakkt is “another positive piece of news that is lifting sentiment.”

“The only thing they (Trump Media) have going for them is the name of the incoming president. But the crypto crowd has backed the president hard, and now they’re expecting a payoff,” said Jim Angel, a finance professor at Georgetown University in Washington.

However, the crypto custody and trading platform received a warning from the NYSE about the breach in March.

Donald Trump has promised to create supportive regulations for crypto assets and establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve and this move could be part of that, some speculated.

Bloomberg reported that there were other positive developments for crypto that included Nasdaq’s plan to list options on BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust as early as Tuesday.

In addition, Goldman Sachs Group plans to develop its crypto-asset platform, which is “a sign of how crypto and its underlying blockchain technology are moving deeper into the financial system,” he noted.

Bitcoin price reaction

The crypto market capitalization returned to its all-time high of just over $3.2 trillion on November 18, led mainly by Bitcoin.

BTC rose to an intraday high of $92,650 when the news broke, but had retreated marginally to $91,700 at the time of writing during Tuesday’s morning Asian trading session.

The asset has gained 37% since Trump won the election about two weeks ago. It is currently only 2.4% away from reaching another all-time high.

Altcoin movements were mostly muted apart from Toncoin (TON), Chainlink (LINK), Polkadot (DOT) and Stellar (XLM).

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