Digital asset company Bakkt told regulators this week that it was short of funds, citing the “rapidly evolving environment” in the cryptocurrency industry.
The company, which once boasted major partners like Starbucks and Mastercard and stems from the same company that owns the New York Stock Exchange, said in an SEC filing Tuesday that it likely won’t have enough cash to continue operations over the next 12 months. .
Bakkt has revised its quarterly reports since November to update its risk disclosures. The company just announced that it has embarked on a major international expansion.
“Because the environment surrounding cryptocurrency assets is rapidly evolving, there is significant uncertainty regarding expansion into new markets and growth of our revenue base,” the company said. Accordingly, Bakkt said, “We cannot conclude that we will be able to significantly increase our revenues without additional funding in the near future.”
Bakkt was launched in 2018 as a cryptocurrency platform developed by Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the New York Stock Exchange. Initially, the focus was on making digital assets available to consumers through partnerships with major brands.
The company went public through a SPAC, a special purpose acquisition company formed specifically to achieve public status through a merger in 2021, and received a stock market valuation of $2.1 million. It launched a digital wallet that promotes “major brands” like Best Buy, saying it “unifies Bitcoin and other forms of digital assets into one platform.”
However, Bakkt later changed its strategy and instead of providing services directly to consumers, it provided cryptocurrency trading and custody services to financial institutions and fintech companies. The company explained that its new “business-to-business-to-consumer approach” is focused on powering commerce by embedding encryption solutions into customer environments.
But the company isn’t completely done with its relationship with consumers.
Last April, Bakkt acquired another cryptocurrency platform called Apex Crypto and renamed it Bakkt Crypto Solutions. At the time, the company touted this as a “B2B2C” play and said it expected Bakkt Crypto’s trading platform and liquidity provider relationships to strengthen its product lineup. However, Bakkt has delisted dozens of cryptocurrency assets from its acquired platforms, including Solana and Cardano, amid regulatory scrutiny over whether certain tokens are considered unregistered securities.
And late last month, Bakkt announced it was expanding its international presence with a focus on Latin America and Asia.
Bakkt says this expansion creates uncertainty. And the overall cryptocurrency market downturn and the collapse of industry majors like FTX also created headwinds.
Bakkt told the SEC that filing a business transition carries increased risk and uncertainty. It also cited the possibility of not earning enough revenue to avoid running out of cash. The company said it is seeking additional financing to meet demand for next year.
Bakkt’s stock price (BAKKT/NYSE), which has plummeted nearly 90% over the past year, fell further from the day’s high of $1.47 to $1.29 shortly after the revised quarterly SEC report.