Bakkt has agreed to acquire Distributed Technologies Research Ltd. (DTR), a stablecoin payments and settlement provider, in an all-share deal that further ties the listed crypto firm’s future to programmable payments rather than trading volumes.
Bakkt Buys Its Own CEO’s Company in Desperate Pivot to Payments
12 January 2026 - 19:30 CET
By Matt Neill
The all-share transaction was announced on Monday. It will see the Intercontinental Exchange-backed firm issue approximately 9.1mn new Class A shares to DTR shareholders. The acquisition is notable not for its size but for its structure. DTR is controlled by Akshay Naheta who also serves as the CEO of Bakkt.
The governance knot
The deal formalizes a relationship that has long worried governance experts. Bakkt disclosures last year flagged its dependence on DTR as a continuity risk. By bringing the technology in-house the company reduces that operational dependency yet replaces it with a significant transfer of equity to its own chief executive.
Under the terms of the agreement Bakkt will issue shares equivalent to 31.5% of a predefined share count to DTR holders. While the deal remains subject to regulatory and shareholder approval the outcome is likely predetermined. Intercontinental Exchange owns around 31% of the stock and has committed to voting in favour.
Pivot or perish
Strategically the acquisition underscores an urgent effort to reposition the business. Bakkt is pivoting away from volatile crypto trading volumes and toward stablecoin settlement and eventual neobanking services.
Management argues that owning the DTR technology stack will accelerate product launches and improve margins. The company also confirmed it will simplify its corporate branding to "Bakkt, Inc." later this month.
However the financial reality remains stark. In its most recent quarter Bakkt posted a net loss of $23.2mn with thinning operating margins. The pivot to payments is less of an expansion and more of a survival strategy. As trading revenues across the sector cool listed crypto firms are struggling to convince investors that transaction fees can sustain a public valuation.
Market reaction
Investors appeared cautiously optimistic about the clarity the deal provides. Bakkt shares rose approximately 7.5% in early US trading to trade around $17.55.
Yet the recovery offers little comfort to long-term holders. The stock remains trading at roughly half of its October 2025 peak. The company is betting that owning the "rails" of the stablecoin economy will finally deliver the durable growth that its original trading business failed to generate. Whether public investors are willing to suffer further dilution to fund that experiment remains an open question.
