President-elect Donald Trump’s media company, Trump Media & Technology Group, is reportedly looking to buy cryptocurrency trading firm Bakkt, and his interest has led to a boost in interest for the platform and for Trump Media’s shares.
Per CNBC, Trump’s “advanced talks” with Bakkt increased Trump Media
— which operates Truth Social — shares by 16%, while stocks for Bakkt grew by more than 162%. Bakkt was created by Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange.
Trump and Bakkt share somewhat of a previous relationship, as the former CEO, Kelly Loeffler, is now the co-chair of Trump’s inauguration committee.
The potential purchase is the latest development in Trump’s crypto-centered ventures.
As he makes his transition into presidency, Trump has remained steadfast in his efforts since he first welcomed himself into the space in 2022, when he debuted an NFT trading card collection that sold out in 24 hours. Back in October, three weeks before the 2024 Presidential Election, Trump’s crypto bank, World Liberty Financial, previewed Trump’s own crypto coin.
As for Bakkt, which was founded in 2018 and is based in Alpharetta, Georgia, the platform works to offer crypto investors technical services. Despite Trump Media’s reported $363 million net loss on revenue of $2.6 million this year, Bakkt brought in $328.4 million, with an operating loss of $27.4 million.
