His inauguration is still weeks away, but since championing the 2024 election, Donald Trump has been making his presence felt across America. The East Coast native has big plans to implement changes across the nation, from teaming up with Robert F. Kennedy on health initiatives to making cryptocurrency more accessible. On Monday, Nov. 18, it was revealed that Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) is in “advanced talks” to acquire Bakkt (BKKT), a well-established crypto exchange company not long after the president-elect launched his World Liberty Financial initiative. The former is majority-owned by NYSE parent company Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) which is led by CEO Jeff Sprecher, husband of former Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler, who was also co-chair of Trump’s inaugural committee. Neither Bakkt nor its future potential owners have confirmed the Financial Times‘ reports just yet, but there have been notable jumps in both stocks since the rumor mill began turning this week.
About Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT)
DJT is perhaps best known for creating Truth Social, which was founded following Donald Trump’s ban across social media platforms like Facebook/Meta and Twitter/X following the January 2021 Capitol riots. The businessman has since been reinstated on many apps and even began posting on Elon Musk’s X in mid-August after a notable hiatus.
Trump has an estimated 53% interest in DJT, which has a market cap of just under $6.5 billion, per CNN. In the hours before polls closed earlier this month, Trump Media shared third-quarter results revealing a net loss of $19.25M for the quarter ending Sept. 30. At the same time, they estimated a revenue of $1.01M and $370M in cash holdings, though DJT has seen a 10% increase in the last month alone according to Yahoo! Finance. Despite the multi-million loss, Trump made it clear he has no intentions to sell his majority share in DJT – especially not as they look into acquiring Bakkt.
Will Donald Trump’s Company Continue To Expand With Bakkt?
After word from the Financial Times got out on Monday, DJT closed 16% higher. What’s even more impressive is that Bakkt stock gained over 165% that day, plus another 14% in premarket trading on Tuesday, per Reuters. Despite previously expressing doubts in the future (or even the reality) of crypto, Trump seems eager to stand behind digital currency in his second term. Since he was elected, bitcoin (BTC-USD) prices have soared to all-time highs, trading at just below $92,000 a token on Nov. 18. As of Nov. 20, that number has only continued to climb, reaching $94,383 on Wednesday morning. This is likely connected to the president-elect’s “generally more friendly [reaction] to the alternative asset class.”
Back in July, Trump attended a bitcoin conference in Nashville. Upon learning more about it, The Apprentice alum has promised “more supportive regulation” backing crypto upon his return to the White House. He reportedly plans to appoint a crypto Presidential Advisory Council and fire Gary Gensler, the standing SEC chair.
While reports indicate that BKKT could soon be under the DJT umbrella, Bakkt shared a statement on Tuesday, Nov. 19, refusing to clarify any speculation. “[We are aware of] the rumors that appeared in the financial press regarding a potential transaction involving the company,” they noted. However, the company “does not comment on market rumors or speculation.”
