Overview
- Bakkt has agreed to buy roughly 30% of Tokyo‐listed Marusho Hotta from RIZAP Group, making it the firm’s largest shareholder.
- Subject to shareholder approval, Marusho Hotta will be renamed bitcoin.jp and Bakkt has secured the corresponding domain.
- Phillip Lord, president of Bakkt International, is set to become CEO of the newly rebranded bitcoin.jp.
- The deal underscores Bakkt’s shift from providing crypto infrastructure to operating a corporate Bitcoin treasury vehicle.
- Financial terms of the acquisition remain undisclosed amid Bakkt’s recent $75 million IPO and $1 billion shelf offering following a 2024 SEC going‐concern warning.