Does Trump want to open an exchange? His media company is rumored to acquire the crypto platform Bakkt, with stock prices soaring 162% in a single day.

According to reports (Financial Times), the media company under U.S. President-elect Trump is in deep negotiations to acquire the cryptocurrency exchange platform Bakkt, which is owned by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). Two people familiar with the negotiations said that Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) plans to acquire Bakkt through an all-stock deal.

It is currently unclear what the valuation in the discussions is, but on Monday, Bakkt's market capitalization was slightly above $192 million, while TMTG's market value reached $7.1 billion, making the acquisition seemingly not too difficult of a challenge.

Although competition among cryptocurrency exchanges is currently very fierce, the interest of companies closely linked to Trump in acquiring an exchange has attracted widespread attention in the market.

Bakkt stock price surges

Once the news broke, Bakkt's stock price surged over 162% in a single day and trading was suspended multiple times due to high volatility. It is understood that Bakkt was founded by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in 2018, primarily providing digital asset trading and custody services, but has planned to reduce some of its operations due to operational pressures in recent years.

It is worth mentioning that Bakkt's association with Trump is not limited to this acquisition negotiation. Former CEO Kelly Loeffler of Bakkt served as co-chair of Trump's inauguration committee and has closely collaborated with the Trump family.

President Trump enters the cryptocurrency exchange

Despite Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) generating only $2.6 million in revenue this year so far, with a net loss of $363 million, its market value still exceeds $7 billion, which is closely tied to Trump's rise to the presidency.

Cryptocurrency market analysts generally believe that if Trump successfully pushes through this deal, it will inject new funds and trust into Bakkt and have a positive impact on the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem. After all, if the next U.S. president owns a cryptocurrency exchange, it could have far-reaching effects on U.S. cryptocurrency regulatory policies and market ecology.