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The venture, called Bakkt, is expected to have a valuation of $2.1b after completing the merger with VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings. As part of the deal, Bakkt will raise an additional $532m from VPC’s funds and a concurrent capital raise. That will support development and marketing of the Bakkt App, which is envisioned as a tool to let people manage their holdings of various digital assets. These could include bitcoin, loyalty points and reward programs, like those offered by Starbucks Corp. and airlines, and virtual assets from videogames.
ICE will retain a majority stake in Bakkt after the deal. Bakkt will gain visibility as a publicly traded company with its own stock ticker, helping it promote its brand and the new app, ICE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Sprecher said in an interview. Mr. Sprecher has previously called Bakkt a “moonshot” bet. He said the venture has made solid progress since ICE launched it in 2018. “It’s well off the launchpad and headed for the moon,” he said. “But it’s very hard to see within this very large company.”
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