Copy link
Increase text size
Decrease text size
Link copied

ICE’s cryptocurrency exchange Bakkt to go public with $2.1B valuation

Crypto exchange Bakkt will be traded at the NYSE after merging with VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings.

NYSE Building / Image by: Wikimedia Commons

Wed, 13 Jan 2021, 12:29 pm UTC

Bitcoin futures exchange Bakkt will soon become a publicly-traded company via a merger with VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings. The surviving entity will have a valuation of around $2.1 billion and will be listed at the New York Stock Exchange.

Bakkt, the cryptocurrency exchange launched in 2018 by the Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) will be merging with a special purpose acquisition company by Victory Park Capital called VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings, according to an announcement published at Businesswire. The combined company will be listed at the NYSE and will be renamed Bakkt Holdings, Inc.

The crypto exchange also plans to raise an additional $582 million in capital, according to Bitcoin.com. This will be done by a combination of contributions from ICE, leveraging VPC Impact’s existing cash, and private placements.

The funds will likely be used to develop new consumer applications for cryptocurrencies. Bakkt plans to expand its business model with the planned app that will help clients manage their crypto holdings as well as a new reward and loyalty system that is set for launch this March.

Gavin Michael was appointed the new Bakkt CEO effective January 11, 2021. Michael replaced David Clifton who will join the crypto exchange’s Board of Directors after the merger is completed.

“The average consumer holds a wealth of digital assets but rarely tracks their value and lacks the tools to manage and utilize them,” Gavin Michael said. “I’m excited to join the management team of a company, at this important time in its expansion, whose vision is to bring trust and transparency to digital assets through innovation and technology and, through that process, unlock trillions of dollars currently held in customer and loyalty accounts and allow consumers to put them to work.”

“For the past 20 years, I’ve been privileged to work with great people to bring one great company to the public markets and watch it grow from there, and today I’m equally proud to see another great idea born within ICE, and shepherded by another great team, enter into a transaction that will allow it to become publicly traded,” ICE founder and CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher said. “I’m thrilled we were able to partner with the fintech experts at VPC on this pathbreaking deal and look forward to watching Gavin and his colleagues bring Bakkt to the next level.”

TokenPost | [email protected]

<Copyright © TokenPost. All Rights Reserved. >

Back to top
Copyright ⓒ TokenPost. All Rights Reserved.