Bakkt Holdings (BKKT) reported a 77.1% year-over-year revenue decline in its first quarter of 2026, posting $243.6 million in revenue compared to $1.07 billion a year earlier. The results, released on May 11, triggered an 11% after-hours stock drop, and shares continued to fall to $9.00 on Tuesday, down 9.27% on the day.
The company posted a net loss of $11.7 million, contrasting with net income of $7.7 million in Q1 2025, while adjusted EBITDA dropped to negative $13.7 million. Lower crypto trading volumes drove the steep decline, with total operating expenses falling to $260.5 million from $1.08 billion largely due to reduced crypto costs.
Despite the weak quarter, Bakkt framed the period as the start of a new strategic chapter. CEO Akshay Naheta said, “This quarter marks the beginning of a new chapter for Bakkt, one defined not by transition, but by execution against what we believe is a generational opportunity.” The company completed its all-stock acquisition of Distributed Technologies Research (DTR) on April 30, adding an AI-native payments engine and stablecoin compliance tools. The platform now targets 24/7 cross-border settlement at institutional scale within a $44 trillion global payments market.
Bakkt also signed a memorandum of understanding with stablecoin provider Zoth, aiming for $1 billion in annualized payment volume across emerging corridors in South Asia, the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa. The business will be organized around three pillars: Bakkt Markets (trading infrastructure), Bakkt Agent (AI-enabled payments), and Bakkt Global (international growth).
Financially, Bakkt ended the quarter with $82.6 million in cash and no long-term debt, raising $69.6 million through equity offerings. With the GENIUS Act now law and stablecoin transaction volumes running at an annualized $17.5 trillion, regulatory and market tailwinds may support the pivot—but analysts remain cautious about near-term revenue growth.
