As Bitcoin continues to slide past the $4,500 mark, bullish investors need something to hold onto. Bakkt is trying to give it to them.
Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the NYSE, is fighting the good fight with a plan to make cryptocurrencies mainstream.
The new platform offers regulated trading, clearing and custody, and security. It is a safe environment for consumers to buy, sell, store, and spend digital assets.
Bakkt and Bitcoin
The platform’s first futures contract will be a Bitcoin one, as it is “the clear crypto leader.”
What will be the next futures contract?
In order to expand its offering, Bakkt is looking to the community to help decide what digital asset to support:
“As the world’s most liquid and widely distributed cryptocurrency, and where we’ve seen the most customer demand, bitcoin’s profile creates a liquid product on which to build a futures contract. We’ll consider additional contracts as the landscape evolves and as we receive additional customer feedback about what they want and need.”
>> Bitcoin Cash Hard Fork Controversy: Roger Ver vs. Craig Wright
Bitcoin Futures Contract
Bakkt has had to delay the first Bitcoin futures contract. Pending regulatory approval, it is now scheduled to launch on January 24th, 2019.
It made the announcement yesterday saying the following:
“As is often true with product launches, there are new processes, risks and mitigants to test and re-test, and in the case of crypto, a new asset class to which these resources are being applied. So, it makes sense to adjust our timeline as we work with the industry toward launch.”
The company has also blamed the “volume of interest” in the contracts and how that has meant more time needed to ensure everything is fully ready for launch.
Until Bakkt’s Bitcoin futures launch, it will be hard to think of any other coin launch yet. Success is riding on the first!
Featured Image: Depositphotos/© Fotofabrika
