Bakkt Inks Deal With DTR to Become Crypto, Stablecoin Infrastructure Provider

In today’s operating environment, adaptability is more than a competitive edge. It can mean the difference between survival and insolvency.

Bakkt Holdings, Inc., a once-diversified digital asset platform, is living that adage out in real time. The company is emerging from a period of recalibration, having lost some crucial banking partners this year, with a new focus, a new leadership team and a new vision for domestic digital assets.

That vision? To become a pure-play infrastructure provider for programmable money and agentic commerce.

“Bakkt’s evolution into a focused crypto infrastructure company is accelerating with remarkable momentum,” Andy Main, co-CEO and president of Bakkt, told investors on Monday’s (May 12) first quarter 2025 earnings call. “The regulatory tailwinds we are experiencing have created unprecedented opportunity.”

Backed by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent of the New York Stock Exchange, Bakkt is shifting away from its early multi-pronged approach to crypto and loyalty services. It is repositioning itself as a leaner, more nimble company squarely focused on global digital payments and regulated crypto trading.

Per executives and company materials, in Q1 2025, Bakkt entered into a cooperation agreement with Distributed Technologies Research (DTR), aiming to integrate DTR’s artificial intelligence (AI) and stablecoin payment infrastructure into Bakkt’s regulated trading platform.

Co-CEO Akshay Naheta emphasized the transformative potential of this partnership.

“By integrating DTR’s cutting-edge payments infrastructure and AI capabilities with Bakkt’s U.S. regulated trading platform, we will create a comprehensive ecosystem designed for frictionless movement between crypto trading, AI-powered solutions and global digital payments,” Naheta said.

The collaboration is expected to culminate in a commercial agreement by Q3 2025, introducing new products such as a merchant checkout widget and a white-label AI-powered plug-in for global money movement.

See also: Bakkt Ditches Custody Business, Names New Co-CEO, and Bets Everything on Crypto

Central to Bakkt’s proposed transformation is its deepening alliance with DTR. While still contingent on a definitive commercial agreement, the partnership signals a move into agentic commerce: a potentially new frontier where AI agents initiate programmable payments across borders in real time. 

The cooperation agreement with DTR grants Bakkt early access to DTR’s infrastructure. This includes APIs for AI-driven payments, fiat-to-stablecoin bridges, and foreign exchange settlements in over 90 countries. The technology stack is expected to be SOC 2-compliant and fully integrated with Bakkt’s existing platform.

The pivot comes after a challenging period for Bakkt. In 2024, the company began a strategic retreat from non-core offerings. A definitive agreement has already been signed to divest its crypto custody business, and further talks are underway to sell its loyalty division. These moves are designed to concentrate resources on crypto infrastructure and digital payment solutions.

Despite its momentum, Bakkt faces material headwinds. Revenue, while bolstered by crypto trading, remains volatile. Until the DTR agreement is finalized and successfully integrated, the company’s new product roadmap is still theoretical.

Operationally, the shift from a diversified service model to a specialized infrastructure play requires flawless execution. Bakkt will need to attract global partners, manage compliance across jurisdictions, and deliver seamless UX — all while maintaining tight cost discipline.

Read more: Bakkt Suffers Major Setback as Bank Partners Drop Platform

Stablecoins, once viewed as niche crypto tools, are now at the heart of Bakkt’s strategy. Stablecoins currently account for just 3% of cross-border payments volume, but Bakkt’s leadership cited forecasts that suggest a leap to 20%, or $64 trillion, by 2032.

Bakkt is positioning itself as a conduit for these flows. With DTR’s ION network, the firm plans to offer on-chain FX conversion, cross-border settlements and regulatory-compliant custody in over 90 countries. Future products include “Bakkt Checkout,” which will allow merchants to accept stablecoin payments and receive instant fiat conversion, and “Bakkt Agent,” an AI-driven plugin for global money movement through chat or voice.

“We’re enabling intent-driven financial actions — from voice-activated payments to seamless global settlements. No wallets to download, no clunky onboarding,” said Ankit Khemka, Bakkt’s new Chief Product Officer and a former Revolut executive. “Think of it as programmable money, with AI doing the heavy lifting.”

For the most recent quarter, Bakkt posted Q1 net revenues of $12.6 million, down 25.9% year-over-year, due in part to the departure of key partners like Webull and declining loyalty program transactions.

And while notional crypto trading volume dipped 39.1% quarter-over-quarter following a post-election cool-off, it still rose 16.6% year-over-year to $1.06 billion. The firm’s crypto-enabled accounts continue to climb, reaching 6.8 million, while assets under custody grew 52.5% YoY to $1.87 billion — mirroring broader crypto market growth.

There was no Q&A portion of the earnings call, and Bakkt’s share price remained relatively stable in after-hours trading.

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