CASE STUDY | U.S Crypto Exchange Pivots to Stablecoin Infrastructure Provider After ~80% Drop in Crypto Revenue in Q1 2026

Bakkt is repositioning itself as a stablecoin infrastructure provider after reporting a 77% drop in first-quarter revenue, as the crypto firm bets on cross-border payments and programmable finance to revive growth.

The Intercontinental Exchange-backed company said revenue fell to $243.6 million in the quarter ended March 31 2026, from $1.07 billion a year earlier, hurt by weaker crypto trading activity. Bakkt posted a net loss of $11.7 million, compared with net income of $7.7 million in the same period last year.

The company said it is shifting focus toward stablecoin payments infrastructure following the completion of its acquisition of Distributed Technologies Research (DTR) on April 30 2026. Bakkt said the deal adds agentic AI and stablecoin payment capabilities to its platform.

Bakkt executives outlined a strategy centered on three business lines

• Bakkt Markets,
• Bakkt Agent, and
• Bakkt Global

aimed at serving institutional trading, programmable finance, and cross-border stablecoin settlement.

The company said stablecoin infrastructure could disrupt traditional payment rails over the next decade citing the rapid growth of stablecoin settlement volumes and increasing institutional interest in blockchain-based payments.

Bakkt ended the quarter with $82.6 million in cash and restricted cash and no long-term debt, which it said provides sufficient liquidity to execute its growth plans.

The company has also expanded its push into emerging-market payments after signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with fintech firm, Zoth, to scale compliant stablecoin-based remittance infrastructure across emerging markets using Bakkt’s U.S. licensing framework.

What makes Bakkt unusual is that its revenue is huge relative to its market cap. That’s because much of its crypto brokerage business operates on very thin margins, so investors value the company far below its reported revenue. The firm has also struggled with losses, declining revenues, and the loss of major partners in recent years.

Bakkt was originally launched in 2018 by Intercontinental Exchange which gave it significant credibility in institutional crypto markets.

Shares of Bakkt rose modestly in after-hours trading following the earnings release.

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