The stock price surged nearly 20%! Bakkt acquires stablecoin payment provider DTR to accelerate global payment transformation

Bakkt Fully Acquires Distributed Technologies Research, Stock Price Surges and Rebrands, Integrating Stablecoin Settlement Technology, Transitioning into a Regulated Global Payment and Financial Infrastructure Platform.

Full Acquisition Boosts Bakkt’s Stock Price, Marking a New Era of Brand Rebuilding

Digital Asset Infrastructure Platform Bakkt Holdings (NYSE: BKKT) officially announced yesterday (1/12) that it has reached a definitive acquisition agreement with global stablecoin payment infrastructure provider Distributed Technologies Research Ltd. (DTR). Inspired by this news, Bakkt’s stock price surged over 20% during trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), reaching a high of over 20, setting a new high since November 2025. Ultimately, the stock closed at 19.21, with an intraday increase of 18%.

Image Source: Google Finance Bakkt’s stock closed at 19.21 on the NYSE, with an intraday gain of 18%

According to the terms of the agreement, Bakkt will issue approximately 9.13 million Class A common shares to DTR shareholders. This equity consideration accounts for about 31.5% of the previously agreed “Bakkt Share Base.” Based on Monday’s closing price, the transaction is valued at approximately $178 million.

To align with this pivotal acquisition, Bakkt also announced that it will officially rename itself to “Bakkt, Inc.” on January 22, 2026, while retaining the current trading symbol “BKKT.” The acquisition has been approved by Bakkt’s Special Committee of the Board of Directors, and its largest shareholder, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which holds about 31% of shares, has also expressed support for the deal.

Integrating Stablecoin Technology, Shifting from Crypto Platform to Payment Infrastructure

The core value of this acquisition lies in DTR’s advanced stablecoin settlement technology. Bakkt officials stated that by fully integrating DTR’s technology into the company’s ecosystem, it can significantly accelerate its strategic deployment in programmable money, global settlement, and next-generation financial infrastructure industries. Over the past few months, Bakkt has continuously tested integration with DTR, confirming that this technology can effectively reduce reliance on third-party service providers and speed up the market rollout of stablecoin settlement products.

Members of Bakkt’s Board of Directors’ Special Committee, Colleen Brown and Mike Alfred, both emphasized that this integration is the final piece in the company’s “transformation into a unified global financial infrastructure platform.” DTR’s core technology supports cross-border stablecoin payments and AI-driven on-chain applications, enabling Bakkt to leverage blockchain’s flexibility and efficiency within the traditional financial (TradFi) compliance framework.

For merchants and financial institutions, this means that in the future, they can directly utilize Bakkt’s regulated channels to achieve faster, lower-cost payment settlement solutions, laying the foundation for new banking and payment application scenarios after 2026.

Leadership Reshuffle and Strategic Shift, Saying Goodbye to 2025’s Transformation Pains

This acquisition also signifies the finalization of leadership adjustments. DTR founder Akshay Naheta has served as Bakkt’s Co-CEO since March 2025, and in August of the same year, he succeeded the departing Andy Main to become the sole CEO of the merged company.

Image Source: N24 DTR Founder Akshay Naheta is currently the sole CEO of Bakkt

Previously, Akshay Naheta held senior roles at SoftBank Group, participating in major investments in ARM, Auto1, and Nvidia. His background is seen as instrumental in guiding Bakkt from a simple crypto trading platform toward a technology-driven “pure infrastructure company.”

Looking back at 2025, Bakkt experienced a difficult period of pain. At that time, two major clients, Bank of America and Webull, announced the termination of their contracts, with Webull contributing up to 74% of the crypto services revenue. This crisis once triggered investor lawsuits and doubts about the company’s viability.

Subsequently, Bakkt decisively adopted a “B2B2C” strategy, selling off its non-core loyalty rewards business, and focusing on obtaining money transfer licenses in all 50 US states, as well as establishing a Bitcoin treasury. The full acquisition of DTR is the culmination of this strategic transformation, aiming to position Bakkt as a “one-stop service provider” for traditional financial institutions entering the crypto industry.

Entering the Virtual Banking Market, Investor Day in March to Reveal 2026 Blueprint

Looking ahead, Bakkt is prepared to leverage its cleaned-up balance sheet and strengthened technological reserves to embark on a new wave of growth.

Mike Alfred pointed out that acquiring DTR will enable Bakkt to collaborate with multiple partners to launch its neobanking strategy within the next few months. These digital-native financial services will no longer rely on physical branches but will utilize blockchain and stablecoin technology to offer more competitive financial products to end-users.

To provide the market with detailed updates on integration progress and the strategic vision for 2026, Bakkt has scheduled an “Investor Day” on March 17, 2026, at the NYSE. As the crypto asset industry enters an integration phase, global crypto and blockchain M&A deals reached a record high of 8.6 billion USD in 2025, including Coinbase’s acquisition of Deribit and Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road.

Bakkt’s move not only demonstrates its ambitions in the stablecoin payment sector but also reflects a broader industry shift from speculative products toward building robust settlement and infrastructure systems.