Do you remember many months ago when it was announced that Bakkt would be offering cryptocurrency trading? It took a lot longer than planned, but Bakkt finally got approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for Bakkt Trust Company to offer cryptocurrency trading. What does this news mean for Bitcoin? Let’s take a look.
When the news of the Bakkt approval was announced, the price of Bitcoin spiked from about $10,000 to $10,500. Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler said that the company would be launching its “custody and physically-delivered daily and monthly bitcoin futures contracts” on September 23. Loeffler said that the company has already been testing in advance of the September date.
The price of Bitcoin could be influenced even more once Bakkt goes live with their trading product. Scott Melker, a cryptocurrency analyst and trader said in a Twitter post that he believes the Bakkt news is huge. “The Bakkt news is arguably the most bullish event for institutional investors in the history of bitcoin.” Melker went on to say that people who buy the futures contract with have to “produce actual Bitcoin or take delivery from the exchange.” He said that “will require the actual purchase of BTC.”
Bakkt has the aim of providing Bitcoin futures contracts and they also hope to get marquee companies to use their service for a payment method. Starbucks is one of the companies that have been linked to Bakkt. Customers of Starbucks would purchase Bitcoin through Bakkt and then they could use Bakkt as a payment method at Starbucks. Linda Lacewell, superintendent of the NYDFS, said to the media that Bakkt is taking the next step with innovation. Bakkt is “furthering innovation while protecting consumers.”
Jake Chervinsky, a former securities litigator for Compound Finance had similar things to say to the media, Bakkt “offers a way for large, risk-averse institutions to buy and custody bitcoin through an end-to-end regulated system approved by the CFTC and NYDFS, and backed by the sterling reputation of ICE.”
The Bitcoin price has bounced up and down like a roller coaster in recent weeks, as the price was up past $12,000 and then briefly slid down to under $10,000. It doesn’t take much for the price of Bitcoin to spike, as the $500 spike in price on the Bakkt news showed. Even though Bitcoin has slipped a bit recently, analyst Josh Rager said that Bitcoin suffering a major price drop is unlikely. He said the recent price drop was due to the large players taking profits.
Institutions Favoring Crypto
You probably already know that Bitcoin is not controlled by any central authority or government, but that could be changing in one sense. Many marquee institutions are getting involved in cryptocurrencies. Brian Armstrong, the chief executive of Coinbase said recently on Twitter that institutional customers are putting money into crypto. “We’re seeing $200-400M a week in new crypto deposits come in from institutional customers.” What this means is that big businesses are taking note of Bitcoin.
The Bakkt launch next month is being closely monitored by major companies. Sam Doctor of Fundstrat Global Advisors said that many people will be onboard immediately when Bakkt goes live. There “appears to be a critical mass of adopters ready to come on board on Day 1 of the Bakkt launch.” Doctor said to the media.
Many top companies have already embraced cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin as an online payment method. Bitcoin has proven to be a reliable, safe and fast way to transfer money and businesses have taken notice. Marquee companies like AT&T, Microsoft, leading online sportsbook BookMaker, and others have already implemented Bitcoin payment methods. You can get started with a Bitcoin wallet today and begin sending and receiving Bitcoin at BookMaker with no worries about your funds not going through. Check out the latest Bitcoin deposit and withdrawal options at BookMaker today and join the many customers who have already discovered Bitcoin as a reliable payment method.
Check out the latest Bitcoin deposit methods at BookMaker today.
