Bakkt Crypto Platform for Institutional Investors Delists Several Digital Assets – Which Cryptos Are Facing the Axe?

Cryptocurrency platform Bakkt is removing support for 25 out of the 36 tokens offered by its recently-acquired trading platform Apex Crypto.

Bakkt’s decision to delist these tokens is part of a wider trend of companies reducing their exposure to risk as they try to navigate uncertain regulatory changes.

The list of de-listed tokens is largely compromised of prominent decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens, which include Aave (AAVE), Avalanche (AVAX), Bancor Network Token (BNT), Basic Attention Token (BAT), Chainlink (LINK), Chiliz (CHZ), Compound Token (COMP), and 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), Texos (XTZ), and Uniswap (UNI) are also in the list. 

“Following the closing of our acquisition of Apex Crypto and as part of our regular coin listing review process, we have made the decision to delist a number of coins on the platform,” a spokesperson for the exchange reportedly said. 

“Our clients’ and their consumers’ best interests are our core commitment, and our review process ensures those interests are best served when we contemplate the most up-to-date regulatory guidance and the latest industry developments.”

Bakkt, which is majority-owned by Intercontinental Exchange – the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange – recently acquired the unprofitable Apex Crypto to gain a greater foothold in the fintech market. 

The acquisition was completed in April for $55 million in cash and $145 million in stock, giving Bakkt a significant advantage in the fintech space by allowing it to offer execution, clearing, custody, cost basis, and tax services to five million customers through 30 fintech clients.

In March, the company also revealed that it is shutting down its retail-oriented app that offered crypto trading, loyalty rewards, and gift cards.

Instead, the company said it would concentrate on providing crypto and loyalty services to businesses through service-as-a-sale and application programming interface solutions.

US Regulators Ramp Up Scrutiny of Crypto Companies

The recent move by Bakkt comes as US regulators have increased their scrutiny of the crypto industry, with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler arguing that most crypto tokens trade as securities.

As reported, the commission has accused now-defunct crypto exchange Bittrexu US of running an unregistered securities exchange.

Specifically, the SEC alleged that Bittrex’s listing of tokens OMG, Dash, ALGO, Monolith (TKN), Naga (NGC), and IHT Real Estate Protocol (IHT) constituted unregistered securities offerings.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the SEC has so far identified 76 such digital tokens that trade, or have been traded, in the US as securities, with Ripple’s XRP token being the best-known and most valuable.

According to the report, there are now 16 tokens deemed to be securities that still trade on one or more major US-registered crypto exchanges.