Trump Social Media Company In Talks To Buy Crypto Firm Bakkt

Donald Trump’s social media company is in advanced talks to buy Bakkt, a cryptocurrency trading platform majority-owned by International Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, the Financial Times reported.

Following the report, shares in Bakkt rose more than 162 percent, while shares in Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), which have been highly volatile since their public listing in March, rose more than 16 percent.

The acquisition would be an all-stock deal making use of TMTG’s large increase in valuation since Trump’s re-election earlier in November, the report said.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Bakkt was valued at more than $400 million (£315m) following a surge of investor interest on Monday, while TMTG was valued at more than $7bn.

Diversification

TMTG, which operates the Truth Social platform, has reported only $2.62m in revenues this year.

The acquisition would diversify the firm into cryptocurrency, an industry Trump promoted during his re-election campaign.

Trump is also involved with another crypto company, World Liberty Financial.

Bakkt was set up by ICE and its first chief executive, Kelly Loeffler, is a former ICE head of marketing and is married to Jeff Sprecher, ICE’s founder, chair and chief executive.

Loeffler was a senator for Georgia during Trump’s first presidency and is co-chair of the committee organising his inauguration in January.

Bakkt has previously said it is likely to wind down its crypto custody business and is planning to build a trading platform for institutional investors.

Crypto euphoria

The loss-making company faced delisting from the NYSE until it carried out a 1 for 25 reverse stock-split in April.

Cryptocurrency coins and related shares have surged since the election, on speculation that Trump will enact crypto-friendly policies.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, is up more than 30 percent in value since the election.