ICE’s Bakkt aims to make Bitcoin mainstream by allowing its futures to be traded on Wall Street under the oversight of the U.S. government. After numerous delays and setbacks in the past year, today Bakkt’s CEO announced that it will officially launch its product on September 23.
Following several days of price declines, Bitcoin’s price is experiencing a sharp spike after the long-awaited announcement from Bakkt Futures.
ICE (Intercontinental Exchange) initiated Bakkt Futures to allow traditional investors wishing to hedge with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to do so in a regulated manner.
Bitcoin’s main areas of criticism over the years have been the lack of regulation and possible manipulated market activity. Bitcoin futures will be “exchange-traded on ICE Futures U.S. and cleared on ICE Clear US, which are federally regulated by the CFTC.” They will also be backed by the existing guarantee fund of ICE Clear US and $125,000,000 in insurance protection.
Bakkt’s mission to revolutionize the understanding of Bitcoin was first announced over a year ago. After several disappointing launch delays, the news broke today that the fund will be up and running on September 23. According to Kelly Loeffler, Bakkt’s CEO:
“Our contracts have already received the green light from the CFTC through the self-certification process and user acceptance testing has begun. With approval by the New York State Department of Financial Services to create Bakkt Trust Company, a qualified custodian, the Bakkt Warehouse will custody bitcoin for physically delivered futures.”
Just as the positive news was released, Bitcoin saw a price increase of over $300 in a matter of minutes. Only one day after dropping to $9,400, Bitcoin is now trading around $10,400.