Not long ago, Bakkt was marginalized by the market due to customer loss and declining revenue, but now it has suddenly become a hot topic and the most eye-catching stock in the crypto sector. What rhythm did it hit behind this seemingly accidental surge? Is it a short-term speculative game or a signal of an industry trend quietly turning?
Bakkt's Surge: Opportunity or Sentiment?
On May 13, Bakkt's stock price surged by over 50% in a short time. This company, once viewed as a "bridge for traditional finance to enter the crypto world," has been struggling with customer loss and revenue shrinkage in recent years. This sudden reversal has attracted market attention. The surface reason is that it achieved a net profit of $7.7 million in the first quarter, the first profit in recent years. However, a careful look at the financial report reveals that this is mainly due to cost reduction and one-time adjustments, with no significant improvement in core business.
What truly ignited sentiment was the company's new strategy. Bakkt announced a collaboration with DTR, founded by a former SoftBank executive, planning to launch an AI plugin and stablecoin payment service, entering the popular "PayFi" track—a global payment infrastructure combining AI agents and on-chain settlement. This "new narrative" of overlaying AI and crypto quickly sparked market speculation.
Additionally, Bakkt's "acquisition concept" was reactivated. Although previous acquisition talks with Trump's TMTG did not materialize, ICE still holds more than half of its shares, and the market is speculating that Apex Fintech might take over. With an extremely small float and a short interest of up to 23%, a short squeeze quickly unfolded, rapidly lifting the stock price.
From a fundamental perspective, the platform still faces enormous pressure. On one hand, Bakkt's major client, Nasdaq-listed broker Webull, will terminate its cooperation in June. Bakkt had previously provided crypto trading and custody services to Webull, with this service accounting for over 70% of Bakkt's total revenue. On the other hand, Bank of America will also end its partnership with Bakkt, affecting its loyalty services segment, which primarily offers solutions like point redemption and digital rewards for corporate clients.
With the loss of these two major clients, Bakkt's revenue structure becomes more fragile. This surge seems more like a concentrated release of short-term market sentiment, rather than a substantial fundamental turnaround.
Crypto Stocks Collectively Agitated: What is the Market Betting On?
Bakkt's anomaly is not an isolated phenomenon. During the same period, the crypto concept stock sector generally strengthened, with multiple stocks showing significant gains. Coinbase rose 23.97%, TeraWulf increased 10.06%, Amber Group and DMG Blockchain rose nearly 10%, and MicroStrategy rebounded by over 4%. Overall, the crypto stock sector's weekly gain was close to 10%, indicating dense capital allocation in this track.
More importantly, the market is beginning to re-examine the value of crypto "infrastructure". In previous crypto market cycles, most funds flowed to exchanges, platform tokens, or mining enterprises. Now, investors' gaze is gradually turning towards "pipeline" companies—enterprises providing services like custody, settlement, clearing, compliance, and risk control. They are more like the water, electricity, and gas of this ecosystem, with stable revenue models and easier adaptation to traditional financial valuation systems. Bakkt's surge precisely hit this structural preference, and it is not the only one.
Traditional Finance is Comprehensively Entering
The true turning point of the crypto industry is not in the short-term stock price lift of a platform, but in the increasing number of traditional financial institutions choosing to join this game.
Internet brokers in the Hong Kong region have already taken the lead. Futu Securities launched crypto trading services, allowing users to directly deposit and trade mainstream cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT through Hong Kong and US stock accounts; Tiger Securities went online with crypto asset deposit, trading, and withdrawal functions, integrating them with traditional stock trading; Victory Securities has already obtained a license supporting crypto asset-related businesses, leading the market. The Hong Kong subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank announced participation in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's stablecoin sandbox, attempting to explore on-chain payment solutions within a compliant framework.
Meanwhile, global payment giants are making even more aggressive moves. Stripe launched a stablecoin account and programmable stablecoin USDB, providing services in 101 countries; Visa and Mastercard are expanding integration with partners like Circle, incorporating stablecoins like USDC into their payment networks, allowing users to consume on-chain assets through traditional cards; PayPal is attracting users to hold PYUSD with a 3.7% yield, trying to construct a stablecoin-based settlement loop. Even traditional cross-border remittance companies like MoneyGram are connecting traditional cash and on-chain assets through the stablecoin "Ramps", covering over 170 countries.
The common direction of these developments is that traditional finance no longer views crypto as a monster, but is actively "on-chaining" itself. This is both a response to changing user needs and a pursuit of cost efficiency. Compared to high-fee, slow-settlement traditional networks, stablecoins and blockchain technology offer a faster, cheaper, and more transparent infrastructure. Whoever can position themselves first in this new system will likely maintain more discourse on the future financial map.
Bakkt's new strategy is precisely a result of this trend. Although it does not match Stripe, Visa, and other giants in scale and technology, as an institution holding a US license with custody and clearing capabilities, it still has the potential to become an acquisition target or collaboration entry point. This is the reason the market is revaluing it—not looking at how much money it makes today, but whether it could be the next entry ticket.
Conclusion
Bakkt's surge is a microcosm of this market movement, but not the entire picture. As capital markets begin to re-examine the value of crypto infrastructure, and more traditional financial institutions no longer avoid crypto technology, "on-chain finance" becomes an executable strategy rather than a distant fantasy, we are witnessing the beginning of an era's transformation.
In this round, it's not those who shout slogans for popularity who make money, but those who truly build bridges, pave roads, and connect to mainstream systems.
