Bakkt, the Intercontinental Exchange Inc. owned crypto subsidiary is in final stage talks with VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings to go public. A Bloomberg report confirmed that the Bitcoin futures market provider is planning to merge with the special purpose acquisition company firm VPC Impact at a combined valuation of $2 billion.
Sources: Intercontinental Exchange's Bakkt is in advanced talks to go public via a merger with SPAC; combined entity could be valued at $2B (Bloomberg)https://t.co/GH70iVnsW7https://t.co/sM6sr2lpqf
— Techmeme (@Techmeme) January 8, 2021
Bakkt is a formidable name in the Bitcoin futures market as it was among the very first to launch a fully regulated Bitcoin futures market after raising nearly $300 million from its parent company and several other investors. Bakkt was founded by outgoing Georgia senator Kelly Loeffler and it is currently led by interim Chief Executive Officer David Clifton.
Crypto Companies Going Public in 2021
Bakkt’s plan to go public has come just weeks after Coinbase announced it would be holding its IPO in the first quarter of 2021. The decision by crypto companies to go public is well calculated and comes at the time when Bitcoin is roaring to new all-time-highs every other day having already gained $21,000 in the past 21 days.
The ongoing bull run without any significant pullbacks is being attributed to significant institutional Fomo among institutions post third halving in May last year. More than 10 publically traded companies including the likes of PayPal, MicroStrategy, and Grayscale hold bitcoin. These institutions are not just holding bitcoin and continuously buying leading to a shortage of bitcoin in the market
As Bitcoin price continues to move upwards, the demand for the top digital currency is also at an all-time high, thus the likes of Bakkt and COINBASE going public would only help the cryptocurrency market which recently crossed the $1 trillion market cap to reach a much wider audience.
If the upcoming Coinbase IPO receives a good public response, more crypto companies might follow the suit as the crypto market is already mainstream where institutions, as well as retail, are currently bullish about the market.
