Ex-SoftBank Executive Joins Bakkt as Co-CEO to Revitalize Platform

Former SoftBank dealmaker, Akshay Naheta, has been named co-CEO of Bakkt, the American crypto trading and custody platform, as part of a broader effort to reverse its recent downturn. Naheta, known for a successful track record that includes leading a $4 billion investment in Nvidia, will work alongside current CEO Andy Main and join Bakkt's board. His tenure at Distributed Technologies Research, which focuses on building global payments infrastructure, is expected to bring innovative technology integration to Bakkt’s operations. The company, which has seen its stock price drop over 62% this year and lost significant clients like Bank of America and Webull, retains critical regulatory permits including a BitLicense from the New York State Department of Financial Services. The integration of Naheta’s payment technology with Bakkt’s trading and brokerage services is pending regulatory approval and could help transform the platform into a more comprehensive, utility-based institutional digital assets trading and payments hub.