Bakkt Stock Plummets 40% Following $75M Share Sale—Here’s Why Traders Are Spooked

Bakkt just took a nosedive—and Wall Street's buzzing. The crypto custody platform's shares cratered 40% after announcing a $75 million stock offering. Ouch.

Dilution drama strikes again

Nothing sends shareholders sprinting for the exits faster than fresh shares flooding the market. Bakkt's move effectively waters down existing stakes—and investors voted with their sell orders.

Timing is everything (or nothing)

The offering comes as crypto markets show tentative signs of recovery. Either Bakkt's betting big on expansion... or scrambling for lifelines. Your call.

Wall Street's favorite pastime: shooting the wounded

Let's be real—nothing makes traditional finance types happier than a 'told-you-so' moment against crypto ventures. Today, they're feasting.

One thing's clear: in the markets, cash is king—and confidence is fragile. Bakkt just learned that lesson the hard way.

In addition to common stock, Bakkt is selling pre-funded warrants for up to 746,373 shares at $9.9999 per share. The offering is expected to close on July 30, pending customary closing conditions. The sharp drop reflects investor concern about the DEEP discount and dilution of existing shares.

The company plans to deploy the funds in general corporate purposes, including working capital and buying digital assets. This is a sequel to Bakkt’s recent change of strategy in which it is looking to become a pure-play crypto infrastructure company. 

In its previous announcement, the company made a new policy of investment where it can invest the capital in Bitcoin and other digital assets as per its treasury policy.

Filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission indicate that Bakkt would raise as much as $1 billion in equity and debt offerings to fund its approach of buying cryptocurrency. Considering this very aggressive capital raising strategy, Bakkt has not yet finished a single real acquisition of digital assets.

The sale is being led by Clear Street and Cohen & Company Capital Markets as joint book-running managers. Bakkt has also granted underwriters an option to purchase up to 1.13 million additional shares or pre-funded warrants at the offering price, less fees, over a 30-day period.

Founded in 2018, Bakkt has focused on crypto custody, trading, and reward services. It is among a few firms that are utilizing traditional capital markets to build treasuries in crypto assets with the aim of gaining strategic access to leading assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.

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