Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
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Bakkt has completed the acquisition of Apex Crypto in a deal worth $200 million.
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Apex Crypto is a leading crypto service provider and has processed over $12.5 billion in digital assets trades since its inception.
Bakkt Acquires Apex Crypto
Bakkt has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Apex Crypto in a deal worth $200 million. While announcing this latest development in a blog post on Monday, Bakkt stated it would pay $55 million in cash, along with stock worth an estimated $145 million for Apex Crypto.
Apex Crypto is an integrated platform that handles execution, clearing, custody, cost basis and tax services for its 30 clients and has been around since 2019. The company has executed $12.5 billion in digital assets trades since its inception.
While commenting on this latest development, Bakkt CEO Gavin Michael said:
“This acquisition marks an exciting new chapter for Bakkt, significantly advancing portions of our crypto roadmap, helping us tap into a universe of 5.8 million crypto-enabled accounts, and further establishing Bakkt as the B2B2C crypto provider of choice.”
As part of the acquisition deal, Bakkt will work to bring its leading platform solutions to the 220+ clients served by the combined businesses within Apex Fintech Solutions.
Bakkt added that it expects the transactions to boost the company’s path back to profitability by leveraging product acceleration, revenue diversification and cost synergies. The company added that;
“Joint capabilities will unlock new opportunities that appeal to the next generation of consumers, such as crypto rewards, as well as the potential to enter international markets through partners.”
Bakkt has been around since 2018, when it was created by Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of The New York Stock Exchange. The firm was initially launched to facilitate Bitcoin futures contracts for accredited investors. However, the firm has since grown and is now building crypto payments solutions and APIs.
Bakkt became a publicly-listed company in 2021 via a Special Purpose Vehicle Acquisition agreement (SPAC). During its stock listing, Bakkt was valued at $2.1 billion but has since lost more than 70% of its value and now has a market cap of $451 million.
