Bakkt a digital asset firm that has transitioned from a Bitcoin custodian to a wallet, ended its first day of public trading on the New York Stock Exchange with a stock value of $8.76.
Though shares in BKKT opened at $9.41, they closed down 6.4%.
With the launch of BKKT at present, Bakkt turns into one of many few crypto companies trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Nasdaq, which skews toward tech corporations, has many more, including Bitcoin mining companies Argo Blockchain and Riot Blockchain, as well as crypto exchange Coinbase.
The platform was launched by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which also owns the NYSE, back in 2018. As initially conceived, it was to be a custodian of Bitcoin, adding to ICE’s vertical. Custodians retailer the keys to Bitcoin and different crypto assets on behalf of clients in exchange for a fee. Anchorage, Coinbase Custody, Copper, and others are popular choices for institutional clients who would fairly outsource security matters.
But Bakkt is perhaps best known for a much-hyped pilot with Starbucks that promised to let the cafe’s patrons reload their Starbucks Card with Bitcoin. Its consumer app—the place a lot of its energy is now targeted—launched in March and aims to be a one-stop wallet that mingles cash, gift cards, loyalty points, and crypto. Through the app, folks should buy and send Bitcoin but also convert gift cards to money.
Bakkt finalized its plans to go public last month after finishing a merger with VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings.
Though BKKT faltered slightly in its debut, it managed to have a more auspicious beginning than Coinbase. After the exchange started publicly trading on April 14, the worth of COIN dropped from $381 to $328. Shares in the crypto trade, the only one publicly traded within the U.S., now sit beneath $300 despite a bullish Bitcoin market.
Source: Decrypt
