According to multiple media reports, Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) is in discussions to buy cryptocurrency trading firm Bakkt Holdings (BKKT).
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Trump Media, which is majority owned by U.S. president-elect Donald Trump and operates the Truth Social app that’s a clone of X/twitter, finished trading in New York up 17% on news of the potential Bakkt purchase. Shares of Bakkt rose more than 160% and trading had to be halted several times due to volatility.
Kelly Loeffler, the former CEO of Bakkt, is co-chair of Trump’s presidential inauguration committee. Whether Trump Media will actually acquire Bakkt, and how the crypto trading platform will be integrated with the social media company, remain unknown at this time.
Betting on Crypto
News of the potential Bakkt purchase comes at a precarious time for Trump Media, which has reported a $363 million net loss on revenue of only $2.6 million this year. The company said in its recent third-quarter financial results that it has $673 million of cash on hand.
Donald Trump has become widely associated with cryptocurrency in recent months as he campaigned in support of digital coins and tokens. Crypto prices have risen substantially since Trump was re-elected on November 5 as investors bet on less regulation and wider adoption of digital assets.
Bakkt Struggles
Bakkt was founded in 2018. The Georgia-based company most recently reported quarterly revenue of $328.4 million and an operating loss of $27.4 million, a 48% improvement from a year earlier. BKKT stock has declined 46.71% so far this year.
This past March, Bakkt was warned by the New York Stock Exchange that its shares were at risk of being delisted because it was trading below the $1 per share minimum required of the index. In April, Bakkt executed a reverse stock split at a 1-for-25 ratio to boost its share price.
Is DJT Stock a Buy?
No analysts currently offer ratings or price targets on Trump Media & Technology Group. So instead we turn to the three month performance of DJT stock. As indicated by the chart below, despite ongoing volatility, the company’s share price has risen 47.39% over the past three months.