Digital asset startup Bakkt to buy Apex Crypto for $200 million
Digital asset platform Bakkt LLC, a startup founded by New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange Inc., said Thursday it plans to buy crypto trading firm Apex Crypto LLC from Apex Fintech Solutions.
The company will initially pay $55 million in cash upon completion of the deal and up to $145 million in Bakkt stock, subject to the achievement of certain financial targets in the fourth quarter of 2022. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2023, subject to regulatory approval .
“We found a unique asset in Apex Crypto, which will expand our crypto client base, give us faster speed to market for new crypto features and serve as an additional avenue for continued sales to a crypto-savvy audience through Apex Fintech Solutions,” Bakkt CEO said Gavin Michael. “With the addition of this complementary business, we believe we are poised to be a crypto provider of choice for financial institutions, fintechs, merchants or loyalty programs looking to offer seamless crypto experiences to their customers.”
Apex Crypto was created to give investors the ability to move between stocks and cryptocurrency by account and funding options. It does so through what it calls a “turnkey platform for integrated crypto trading,” and it already has more than 30 fintech firms on board. Apex’s platform handles complex transactions and regulatory concerns for businesses, licensing obligations and taxes.
Using Apex’s solution, clients can execute trades, hold crypto and invest using more than 44 different tokens, including bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and more.
“It is our purpose at Apex to enable frictionless investing for everyone, and Bakkt’s team and platform are a tremendous complement to that,” said Apex CEO William Capuzzi. “We look forward to working together to continue to provide customers with a seamless crypto experience and access to an expanded solution set.”
Founded in 2018, Bakkt is a digital asset management platform best known for its cryptocurrency services, but also allows users to manage assets such as loyalty tokens, reward points, and in-game assets. In terms of cryptocurrency, Bakkt offers exchange services that support bitcoin along with corporate escrow wallets and bitcoin futures.
Bakkt raised $300 million in March 2020 and went public in October 2021 via a special acquisition company VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings.
Bakkt believes that the Apex deal will enable the company to increase product development for crypto solutions by using the combined strength of the two companies. It also expects to expand its capabilities and product market into more advanced crypto products such as staking, remote transfers and non-fungible tokens.
