Bakkt, the Bitcoin futures trading platform of the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), has received authorization from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) to provide bitcoin custody to all institutions. This further increases the authority of the platform in its path to providing institutions with a well-established and regulated Bitcoin futures trading platform.
According to an official announcement, Bakkt has received authorization from the New York Department of Financial Services to provide bitcoin custody to all institutions.
It’s worth noting that Bakkt’s warehousing solution was officially launched back in September. Still, up until this moment, only clients who traded Bakkt’s Bitcoin Futures contracts were allowed to take advantage of it.
Now that the Warehouse is authorized by the NYDFS as a custody solution, the company’s clients from the entire world will have the ability to store their assets within it. This is quite important because the safe storage of digital assets is something that institutions have been lacking so far.
As per the statement, apart from using sophisticated technology geared at high security, Bakkt’s Warehouse is also taking advantage of additional physical and operational safeguards.
There are already a few companies that have opted-in for Bakkt’s Warehous, including prominent asset managers in the cryptocurrency field, such as Galaxy Digital and Pantera Capital.
In terms of security, the solution has on-premises data centers, as well as dedicated network connectivity between the operational sites. This eliminates the need to use third-party data centers and multi-tenant systems.
The Warehouse’s facility also reportedly uses biometrically-controlled bank-grade vaults as well as hardware security modules, which guarantee both availability and safekeeping of customer funds.
Apart from a lot of other serious infrastructural benefits, the company is also purportedly audited by third-party providers regularly.
In any case, Bakkt’s regulated Warehouse is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, and it might just as well provide the security that institutions are looking for, especially when ICE’s name is backing it. It’s noteworthy that when the Warehouse was first announced, Bitcoin’s price dropped by $600, so it’s curious to observe how it would perform this time.