SPAC companies raise money from public markets especially for the purpose of merging with startups in a particular sector and to take them public, according to Investopedia.
Started in 2019, Bakkt started as a trading platform for Bitcoin futures and options. However, the company has failed to rack up substantial trading volumes for its contracts in an industry where the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), which launched its futures contracts in 2019, leads the pack.
Still, Bakkt pivoted to developing consumer applications for digital assets. In 2020, it launched a digital wallet and tested the integration of ‘Bakkt cash’ with Starbucks. The wallet's scope was later expanded to all kinds of digital assets, including rewards miles, and loyalty points. In May 2020, Bakkt acquired Bridge2 Solutions, a loyalty rewards company, for USD 300 million.
Bakkt, the crypto futures trading exchange backed by ICE, has announced it is going public at a USD 2.1 billion valuation. This announcement comes on the heels of US-based crypto exchange Coinbase's filing of a draft registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an initial public offering (IPO).
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