Bakkt is Finally Here
That’s right, Bakkt is finally here. After months upon months of deliberation, hype, and odd regulatory setbacks, the cryptocurrency venture that has been backed by the New York Stock Exchange, Microsoft, and Starbucks is launching.
Starting Monday, July 22nd, the exchange will be testing physically delivered Bitcoin futures, which will be one of the first product of its kind to be regulated in U.S. markets. It is currently unclear who will be testing the product, or in which way the contract and custody solution will be tested. But, this development marks a huge step in the right direction for the cryptocurrency market.
Bakkt confirmed the launch date for its testing period at a recent summit that was held in the New York Stock Exchange, whose chief executive is wed to the head of Bakkt. Per first-hand recounts of those in attendance, the cryptocurrency startup has also confirmed that it will be fully launching its Bitcoin futures product by the end of Q3, should nothing go wrong during testing of course.
A Catalyst for Bitcoin & Crypto Growth
In a recent Fundstrat Global Advisors research note posted to Twitter, Sam Doctor of the market research firm explained his thoughts on the conference. Citing the buzz being emanated by the over 150 investors and institutions in attendance, Doctor argues that there is “institutional anticipation” for the exchange’s Bitcoin futures. He expounded:
“As we have written before, Bakkt tackles many of the barriers to adoption for traditional investors seeking to expand their mandate to include crypto.”
Doctor adds that “appears to be a critical mass of adopters ready to come on board on Day 1 of the Bakkt launch”, noting that the firm’s sales team is starting to ramp up discussions with everyone from brokers and market makers. He thus confirms that should the hype translate into actual investment, the long-expected launch of the Bitcoin product, which will give many institutions their first taste of so-called “physical” BTC, could be a “huge” catalyst for the growth of this already budding market.
Institutions Are Buzzing
Per Placeholder’s Chris Burniske, the venture capitalist author of industry primer “Crypto Asset”, the overall feel of the room was rather bullish. He wrote the following, making the case that Wall Street has its eye on the cryptocurrency space once again.
Title Image Courtesy of Samson Creative Via Unsplash
