Announced this morning is some pretty major news that Bitcoin bulls have been waiting for; Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) – the trading giant that owns the New York Stock Exchange – has a goal of breaking Bitcoin into mainstream currency and it plans to do this by forming a new company called Bakkt.
Bakkt is soon to be launched by Wall Streets major player, but it also joins forces with some of America’s biggest companies including Microsoft and Starbucks.
What’s Going On?
This morning ICE announced that its new company is expected to launch in November. Bakkt aims to offer a federally regulated market for Bitcoin, transforming Bitcoin into a trusted global currency with broad usage.
Yowza.
As mentioned, ICE is not acting alone, the new venture also involves heavyweights in the form of Microsoft (technology), Starbucks (retail) and Boston Consulting Group (consulting).
Responding to the news, Maria Smith – Vice President of Partnerships, and Payments for Starbucks – said the following about the coffee-chains involvement;
“As the flagship retailer, Starbucks will play a pivotal role in developing practical, trusted and regulated applications for consumers to convert their digital assets into US dollars for use at Starbucks,” said Maria Smith, Vice President, Partnerships, and Payments for Starbucks.
>>Crypto Daily News: Coinbase Adds British Pound and John McAfee’s “Unhackable Wallet” Gets Hacked
Bakkt Has a Job to Do
The main goal of Bakkt is to make Bitcoin a secure offering for the biggest global financial institutions who now mostly shun it. It wants to create a path for these major money managers to offer Bitcoin mutual funds, pension funds, and ETFs, as highly regulated, mainstream investments.
ICE’s head of digital assets, Kelly Loeffler, will now serve as CEO of Bakkt. She had this to say regarding the company:
“Bakkt is designed to serve as a scalable on-ramp for institutional, merchant, and consumer participation in digital assets by promoting greater efficiency, security, and utility…We are collaborating to build an open platform that helps unlock the transformative potential of digital assets across global markets and commerce.”
Currently, Bakkt is in preparation for launch in November. More announcements are to be expected in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!
Featured Image: Deposit Photos/iterum
