Bakkt Stock Soars 40% as Crypto Veteran Joins Board

The market delivered a resounding vote of confidence in Bakkt’s new strategic direction, with its stock, BKKT, skyrocketing over 40% to close at $14.70 per share. This surge not only marked the stock’s highest level since late July but also pushed it past analysts’ one-year consensus price target of $13.26. The catalyst was the appointment of Michael Alfred, a respected figure in the digital asset space, to the company’s board of directors. Alfred’s credentials are deeply rooted in crypto; he was a co-founder of data platform Digital Assets Data, which was acquired by NYDIG in 2020, and has been an investor in high-profile firms like Swan Bitcoin and Bitwise Asset Management.

Bakkt CEO Akshay Naheta emphasized the strategic nature of the move in a statement, saying, “We’re doubling down on our mission to build next-generation financial infrastructure by bringing world-class leaders onto our board.” He highlighted that Alfred’s “proven track record and reputation in the digital asset and fintech ecosystem brings unparalleled expertise, a powerful network and institutional credibility.” For a company whose stock is down more than 40% year-to-date and over 94% from its late-2021 peak, this injection of expertise is seen as a critical step in rebuilding investor trust and steering the company toward growth.

Alfred’s appointment is the latest in a series of decisive actions Bakkt has taken to reposition itself. For months, the company has been shedding non-core assets to sharpen its focus exclusively on digital asset infrastructure. A pivotal move came in July when Bakkt sold its loyalty rewards business for $11 million. The financial rationale was clear: in the second quarter, the crypto business generated over $568 million in revenue, while the loyalty unit brought in just $10 million. This divestiture was designed to streamline operations and free up resources for core services like crypto custody, stablecoin payments, and tokenized assets.

This strategic pivot has not gone unnoticed by Wall Street. Investment bank Benchmark Company recently initiated coverage of Bakkt with a buy rating and a $13 price target. Analyst Mark Palmer wrote that the company “is poised for a fresh start after a period of restructuring that has streamlined its focus and reset its growth trajectory.” He specifically pointed to the divestiture of non-core operations as a “decisive exit from capital-intensive, non-core operations that weighed on its profitability and investor confidence.” Palmer also cited the hiring of CEO Akshay Naheta in March and the company’s new Bitcoin and stablecoin initiatives as positive developments underpinning the optimistic outlook.

Perhaps the most ambitious signal of Bakkt’s commitment to the crypto ecosystem is its exploration of a corporate Bitcoin treasury. In June, the company notified the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of plans to sell up to $1 billion in securities. The stated purpose is to provide fresh capital for a potential expansion of its corporate treasury to include Bitcoin. This filing came less than three weeks after Bakkt updated its investment policy to formally allow holdings of Bitcoin and other digital assets.

This move positions Bakkt among a small but growing number of public companies considering Bitcoin as a treasury asset, a strategy famously pioneered by firms like MicroStrategy. For Bakkt, it represents a powerful alignment of its corporate strategy with its core business offerings. Michael Alfred himself underscored the scale of the opportunity in his statement, noting Bakkt’s potential in “digital asset trading, stablecoin payments, AI agents, and Bitcoin.” The combination of a streamlined operational focus, respected new leadership, and a bold treasury strategy suggests Bakkt is betting big on its role in the future of digital finance, and for one day, at least, investors wholeheartedly agreed.