Bakkt Holdings, Inc. Class A (BKKT) Risk Analysis

ICE is able to exert significant influence over the election and removal of our directors and thereby significantly influence corporate and management policies, including potential mergers or acquisitions, payment of dividends, asset sales, amendments of our Certificate of Incorporation and By-Laws and other significant corporate transactions for so long as it retains significant ownership. This concentration of ownership may delay or deter possible changes in control, which may reduce the value of an investment in our securities. So long as ICE continues to own a significant amount of the combined voting power, even if such amount is less than 50%, ICE will continue to be able to strongly influence our decisions.

Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, or if such court does not have subject matter jurisdiction, any other court located in the State of Delaware with subject matter jurisdiction, will be the sole and exclusive forum for (a) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of us, (b) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any current or former director, officer, other employee or stockholder of ours to us or our stockholders, (c) any action asserting a claim against us or our officers or directors arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the "DGCL") or the Certificate of Incorporation or By-Laws or as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, (d) any action to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of the Certificate of Incorporation or the By-Laws or any provision thereof, (e) any action asserting a claim against us or any current or former director, officer, employee, stockholder or agent of ours governed by the internal affairs doctrine of the law of the State of Delaware or (f) any action asserting an "internal corporate claim" as defined in Section 115 of the DGCL. Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Accordingly, both state and federal courts have jurisdiction to entertain such Securities Act claims. To prevent having to litigate claims in multiple jurisdictions and the threat of inconsistent or contrary rulings by different courts, among other considerations, the Certificate of Incorporation provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act; however, there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such provision, and investors cannot waive compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Certificate of Incorporation provides that the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any cause of action arising under the Securities Act, any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our securities will be deemed to have notice of and consented to this provision. These exclusive-forum provisions may limit a stockholder's ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum of its choosing for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. If a court were to find these exclusive-forum provisions to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving the dispute in other jurisdictions, which could harm our results of operations.

Our certificate of incorporation (the "Certificate of Incorporation") and our by-laws (the "By-Laws") contain provisions that could have the effect of rendering more difficult, delaying, or preventing an acquisition deemed undesirable by the Board and therefore depress the trading price of our securities. These provisions could also make it difficult for stockholders to take certain actions, including electing directors who are not nominated by the current members of the Board or taking other corporate actions, including effecting changes in management. Among other things, the Certificate of Incorporation and By-Laws include provisions regarding: -     a classified Board with three-year staggered terms, which could delay the ability of stockholders to change the membership of a majority of the Board;-     the ability of the Board to issue shares of Preferred Stock, including "blank check" preferred stock and to determine the price and other terms of those shares, including preferences and voting rights, without stockholder approval, which could be used to significantly dilute the ownership of a hostile acquirer;-     the limitation of the liability of, and the indemnification of, our directors and officers;-     the right of the Board to elect a director to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of the Board or the resignation, death or removal of a director, which prevents stockholders from being able to fill vacancies on the Board;-     the requirement that directors may only be removed from the Board for cause and upon the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of the total voting power of then outstanding common stock;-     a prohibition on stockholder action by written consent (except as required for holders of future series of Preferred Stock), which forces stockholder action to be taken at an annual or special meeting of stockholders and could delay the ability of stockholders to force consideration of a stockholder proposal or to take action, including the removal of directors;-     the requirement that a special meeting of stockholders may be called only by the Board, the Chairman of the Board or our Chief Executive Officer, which could delay the ability of stockholders to force consideration of a proposal or to take action, including the removal of directors;-     controlling the procedures for the conduct and scheduling of the Board and stockholder meetings;-     the requirement for the affirmative vote of holders of at least 66 2/3% of the total voting power of all of the then outstanding shares of the voting stock, voting together as a single class, to amend, alter, change or repeal certain provisions in the Certificate of Incorporation which could preclude stockholders from bringing matters before annual or special meetings of stockholders and delay changes in the Board and also may inhibit the ability of an acquirer to effect such amendments to facilitate an unsolicited takeover attempt;-     the ability of the Board to amend the By-Laws, which may allow the Board to take additional actions to prevent an unsolicited takeover and inhibit the ability of an acquirer to amend the By-Laws to facilitate an unsolicited takeover attempt; and -     advance notice procedures with which our stockholders must comply to nominate candidates to the Board or to propose matters to be acted upon at a stockholders' meeting, which could preclude stockholders from bringing matters before annual or special meetings of stockholders and delay changes in the Board and also may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer's own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control. These provisions, alone or together, could delay or prevent hostile takeovers and changes in control or changes in the Board or management.

The trading market for our securities depends, in part, on the research and reports that securities and industry analysts publish about us and our business. If securities and industry analysts downgrade our securities or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the market price of our securities would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of us or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our stock could decrease, which might cause the market price and trading volume of our securities to decline.

The change in fair value of our warrants is the result of changes in stock price and warrants outstanding at each reporting period. (Loss) gain from change in fair value of warrant liabilities represents the mark-to-market fair value adjustments to the outstanding warrants. Significant changes in our stock price or number of warrants outstanding may adversely affect our net income (loss) in our consolidated statements of operations.

On July 28, 2025, we issued and sold pre-funded warrants to purchase an aggregate of 746,373 shares of our common stock for aggregate net proceeds of approximately $69 million. As of December 31, 2025, our Public Warrants to purchase an aggregate of 285,619 shares of common stock are exercisable in accordance with the terms of the warrant agreement. Further, on February 26, 2026, we issued and sold pre-funded warrants to purchase an aggregate of 2,475,201 shares of our common stock for aggregate net proceeds of approximately $48.125 million. In addition, we have outstanding Class 1 Warrants and Class 2 Warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 2,017,850 additional shares common sock at an exercise price $25.50 per share. To the extent such warrants are exercised, additional shares of common stock will be issued, which will result in dilution to the holders of common stock and increase the number of shares eligible for resale in the public market. Sales of substantial numbers of such shares in the public market or the fact that such warrants may be exercised could adversely affect the market price of common stock.

We may issue additional shares of our common stock or other equity securities in the future in connection with, among other things, future acquisitions, repayment of outstanding indebtedness, the exercise of previously issued warrants, or grants under the Omnibus Incentive Plan, or other grant awards without stockholder approval in a number of circumstances. The issuance of additional common stock or other equity securities could have, among other things, one or more of the following effects: -     our existing stockholders' proportionate ownership interest will decrease;-     the amount of cash available per share, including for payment of dividends in the future, may decrease;-     the relative voting strength of each previously outstanding share of our common stock may be diminished; and -     the market price of our common stock and/or Warrants may decline.