Former Starbucks Bitcoin Partner Bakkt Says It’s Running Out of Cash

By Ryan Ozawa

Digital asset firm Bakkt told regulators this week that it is running out of money, citing the “rapidly evolving environment” in the crypto industry.

The company—which once boasted major partners like Starbucks and Mastercard and traces its lineage to the same firm that owns the New York Stock Exchange— disclosed in an SEC filing Tuesday that it likely does not have enough cash to continue operations for the next 12 months.

Bakkt amended its quarterly report from November to update the risk disclosures. The company had just announced that it was embarking on a major international expansion.

“There is significant uncertainty associated with our expansion to new markets and the growth of our revenue base given the rapidly evolving environment associated with crypto assets,” the company stated. As a result, Bakkt said it “cannot conclude it is probable we will be able to increase revenues substantially” without raising more money in the near future.

Bakkt started in 2018 as a crypto platform developed by Intercontinental Exchange, which also owns the New York Stock Exchange. It initially focused on enabling consumers to use digital assets through partnerships with major brands.

The company went public via a SPAC—a special purpose acquisition company created specifically to attain public status via a merger—in 2021, hitting the stock market with a $2.1 million valuation. It launched a digital wallet touting "marquee brands" like Best Buy, saying it "brings together Bitcoin and other forms of digital assets into one platform."

But Bakkt subsequently shifted its strategy, and instead of directly serving consumers, it offered crypto trading and custody services to financial institutions and fintech companies. The company explained that its new “business-to-business-to-consumer approach” focuses on powering commerce by embedding crypto solutions into client environments.

The company wasn't quite done with consumers, though.

Last April, Bakkt acquired another crypto platform called Apex Crypto and renamed it Bakkt Crypto Solutions. Touting it as a "B2B2C" play, the company said at the time that it expected Bakkt Crypto’s trading platform and liquidity provider relationships to boost its product lineup. However, Bakkt has since delisted dozens of crypto assets from the acquired platform, including Solana and Cardano, amid regulatory scrutiny over whether certain tokens count as unregistered securities.

And late last month, Bakkt announced that it was expanding its international footprint, focusing on Latin America and Asia.

That expansion, Bakkt says, introduces uncertainty. And the overall crypto market downturn and collapse of major industry players like FTX have also created headwinds.

Bakkt told the SEC in that filing its business shift has increased risks and uncertainties. It also cited the possibility of not getting enough revenue to avoid running out of cash. The company said it is now seeking to raise additional financing to meet its needs over the next year.

Bakkt’s stock price (BAKKT/NYSE), which has plunged nearly 90% over the past year, dipped further from its high for the day of $1.47 to $1.29 shortly after its revised quarterly SEC filing.

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