Prominent analyst Tom Lee believes the launch of Bakkt will help build trust towards crypto trading among institutional investors.
Lee, a renowned Bitcoin bull and co-founder of the research firm Fundstrat, tweeted his enthusiasm for the long-awaited crypto services platform: “I am very positive on @Bakkt and its ability to improve trust with institutions to crypto.” Bakkt is owned by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and goes live on September 23, having already launched its crypto warehouse service, which saw over $1 billion USD worth of Bitcoin deposited in one day.
Many involved parties in the world of crypto are of the belief that Bakkt will have a substantial impact on the future of cryptocurrency. If the platform functions as planned, it will provide traders with a secure and monitored exchange on which to trade Bitcoin. With Bakkt futures, traders will be able to channel their payments and guarantee their Bitcoin will be delivered through the same ICE protocols that protect contracts traded by oil companies. The platform will also employ the same cybersecurity measures used on the New York Stock Exchange.
Bakkt was first unveiled over a year ago with ICE initially hoping to launch it in December 2018. However, the platform was faced with a series of regulatory delays that led to the launch being delayed until now. ICE announced in May that it had self-certified its futures contracts and in July began user acceptance testing to ensure that users could communicate with Bakkt’s infrastructure, paving the way for the exchange to begin taking on customers.
>> Ripple Shuns Securities Question: Dismisses XRP Lawsuit
Not everyone is as bullish about Bakkt as Lee, after a recent Twitter poll by Morgan Creek Digital co-founder Anthony Pompliano showed an almost even split of 3,500 votes on whether it would lead to an increase, decrease, or no movement for the price of Bitcoin. Some of the bigger skeptics believe that Bakkt could be used by institutions to short the price of Bitcoin, similar to how CME’s futures were shorted before the Bitcoin collapse in January 2018.
Featured Image: DepositPhotos © AntonMatyukha
