Bakkt Holdings announced an agreement to purchase Distributed Technologies Research, a stablecoin and fiat payments infrastructure provider, with the deal potentially worth $178 million. The acquisition will help Bakkt consolidate its stablecoin settlement infrastructure and prepare for a neobanking strategy launch. Intercontinental Exchange will vote in favor of the deal, with the CEO of Distributed Technologies Research remaining as Bakkt’s CEO post-merger.

The crypto and blockchain industry saw $8.6 billion worth of deals in 2025, with significant acquisitions like Coinbase buying Deribit for $2.9 billion, Kraken acquiring Ninjatrader for $1.5 billion, and Ripple Labs purchasing Hidden Road for $1.2 billion. In 2026, Fireblocks acquired TRES for $130 million, and Coincheck bought 3iQ for $112 million, with the latter deal expected to close in Q2.

Read more at Cointelegraph: Bakkt Stock Surges 20% after Move on Stablecoin Payments Strategy