Bakkt to buy 30% of Japan’s Marusho Hotta, rename it ‘bitcoin.jp’ in multinational BTC treasury push

Bakkt Holdings (ticker BKKT) has agreed to acquire about 30% of Marusho Hotta Co., Ltd. from RIZAP Group, becoming the Tokyo-listed company’s largest shareholder and installing Phillip Lord, Bakkt International’s president, as CEO as part of a pivot into the crypto treasury trend.

Subject to shareholder approval, Marusho Hotta will be renamed “bitcoin.jp,” and its corporate policy will include investing in bitcoin and other digital assets, Bakkt said in an announcement.

The transaction is part of Bakkt’s evolution into a crypto treasury firm. Last month, Bakkt unveiled a $75 million public offering, with proceeds earmarked in part for bitcoin purchases, and a broader plan filed in late June to raise up to $1 billion for a crypto asset treasury push. Bakkt’s stock fell sharply when the $75 million deal priced last week, The Block reported.

On Wednesday, Bakkt co-CEO Akshay Naheta said Japan’s regulatory environment makes the firm an “ideal platform for a Bitcoin-centered growth business,” framing the deal as the kickoff to Bakkt’s BTC treasury play. The company said it intends to work with the Marusho Hotta team to integrate bitcoin into operating and financial plans.

The name change to bitcoin.jp and the shift in corporate purpose will require shareholder approval at Marusho Hotta. Bakkt said it will provide additional details on execution once the transaction progresses. Terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed. 

Bakkt has been the subject of strategic speculation over the past year, including talks reported in November 2024 that Trump Media & Technology Group was exploring a potential acquisition. No deal to that effect has been announced yet.