Shares of ICE-backed crypto company Bakkt fall below $1

Intercontinental Exchange-backed Bakkt is struggling to regain investor confidence. Shares of the crypto company yesterday closed below $1 for the fourth straight day.

Why it matters: Falling below $1 puts it at risk of being delisted. It's also psychologically important: It can make a stock undesirable in the eyes of potential investors.

Zoom in: Bakkt trades on the NYSE, which requires that companies maintain an average closing price at or above $1 during a consecutive 30-day trading period.

• Shares of Bakkt, which closed at 91 cents yesterday, have traded below $1 on seven of the last 30 days, giving it an average of $1.08.
• Companies that fail to maintain the $1 average price are issued a warning and have six months to address the price after receiving the notification.

Of note: The company is valued at $255.4 million, below the $300 million ICE spent to combine it with loyalty rewards provider Bridge2 Solutions in 2020. It's also a far cry from the $2.1 billion valuation the company had when it went public via SPAC.

The big picture: Formed in 2018, Bakkt was a highly anticipated crypto loyalty platform due to its deep ties with the traditional finance world.

• Its consumer product struggled to find traction, however, so Bakkt, like many, pivoted toward B2B this year.
• Part of that pivot was its $200 million acquisition of Apex Crypto. The platform embeds crypto trading capabilities into other platforms and bolstered Bakkt's overall revenue to $347.6 million in the second quarter of 2023.

What we're watching: Bakkt is expected to report Q3 earnings next Tuesday, Nov. 14.