Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) is reportedly in advanced talks to purchase cryptocurrency exchange Bakkt at a time digital assets are soaring since President-elect Trump — majority shareholder of the social media company — secured a second term in the White House.
Citing two sources, the Financial Times reported Monday that TMTG, which operates Truth Social, is finalizing an all-share purchase of Bakkt, but details on a valuation were not clear.
Bakkt said Tuesday it was aware of “the rumors that appeared in the financial press regarding a potential transaction involving the company,” but the company “does not comment on market rumors or speculation.”
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Shares of Bakkt, backed by NYSE-owner Intercontinental Exchange, which closed up 162.5% on Monday after FT’s report, were up another 14.8% in premarket trading Tuesday.
TMTG shares, which closed up 16.7% on Monday, were down more than 7% in afternoon trading on Tuesday.
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A TMTG purchase of Bakkt would help consolidate Trump’s involvement with an industry he championed in the run-up to the U.S. presidential election.
Bitcoin has skyrocketed over 32% since Nov. 5 to an all-time high of more than $93,000 as traders bet Trump’s promised support for digital assets would lead to a less restrictive regulatory regime and inject some life back into bitcoin after a listless few months.
But the market gains go beyond bitcoin. The total cryptocurrency market value has soared to an all-time high of $3.16 trillion, according to CoinGecko. Open interest on derivatives exchanges is at a record high of over $102 billion, Coinglass data showed.
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Ethereum has jumped about 32% since the election, while the market value of decentralized finance-focused tokens touched a five-month high of $93 billion.
Trump previously launched a new crypto venture, World Liberty Financial.
Reuters contributed to this report.