Bakkt Axes 25 DeFi and NFT Tokens from Apex Crypto

Digital asset firm Bakkt has delisted 25 out of the 36 tokens on its recently acquired Apex Crypto platform. The decision was presumably made in compliance with regulatory guidance, and the delisted tokens mainly belong to popular decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible token (NFT) ecosystems.

The announcement comes after the digital asset firm’s finalized acquisition of Apex Crypto in April, with negotiations that began in November 2022. Another influence to the decision is a perceived shift on Bakkt’s overall strategy from crypto retail towards business-to-business (B2B) services.

A Bakkt spokesperson claims that the delisting decision was made in the interest of consumer and client protection, based on the firm’s regular, internal review of listed coins.

Among the tokens delisted are Aave (AAVE), ApeCoin (APE), Avalanche (AVAX), Bancor Network Token (BNT), Basic Attention Token (BAT), Chainlink (LINK), Chiliz (CHZ), Compound Token (COMP), Cosmos (ATOM), Curve DAO (CRV), Enjin Coin (ENJ), Fantom (FTM), Filecoin (FIL), GALA (GALA), The Graph (GRT), Internet Computer (ICP), Loopring (LRC), Maker DAO (MKR), Republic (REN), Stellar (XLM), Sushiswap (SUSHI), Synthetix (SNX), Tezos (XTZ), Uniswap (UNI), and Yearn Finance (YFI).

Bakkt’s acquisition of Apex Crypto, an unprofitable platform, cost the company $55 million in cash and $145 million in stock. Apex Crypto is a “turnkey” service that provides execution, clearing, custody, cost basis, and tax services to 5 million customers through 30 financial technology partners.

Bakkt secured a broker-dealer license from Bumped Financial earlier in February this year, which it disclosed in a financial statement. The license was part of Bakkt’s strategy to expand its presence in the fintech market, catering to a growing clientele. However, Bakkt’s focus shifted when it decided to shut down its retail-oriented app in March, concentrating instead on business-to-business (B2B) operations. Bakkt now aims to provide crypto and loyalty solutions to businesses through Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and API solutions.

Intercontinental Exchange, the majority owner of Bakkt, also owns the New York Stock Exchange. Bakkt’s stock experienced a 7% decline on May 12, the day of the announcement. However, it is also down by 40% over the last six months, although it is up 3.45% on a year-to-date basis.

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