ICE’s Bakkt Looks to Build a Digital Asset Ecosystem Based on Consumer Apps

Bakkt, a digital asset management firm with affiliation to the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has been in the news for the steady growth of trading volumes for its Bitcoin futures contracts.

The launch of the much-awaited physically settled Bitcoin futures on Bakkt was quite dismal when compared against the hype it generated in the run-up to the launch. In the month of September, the trading volume of these futures contracts was minimal, however towards the end of October and throughout November, Bakkt received tremendous demand for these futures contracts.

As the Bitcoin futures on Bakkt has started to see some significant volume, the firm is already planning to expand its reach and services with several new products. It recently partnered with ICE’s clearinghouse and futures exchange to launch those new products. Along with that, the firm has also sealed a partnership with Microsoft and Starbucks to create numerous retail services for consumers.

Bakkt is moving forward with a goal to create a common platform for institutional as well as retail investors to buy, sell, store and spend digital currencies with ease.

Adam White, chief operating officer of Bakkt recently sat down for an interview with EJ Insights where he talked about the future plans of Bakkt and how it is looking to capture the market. When enquired about the future plans on the retail partnership with Starbucks and Microsoft, White explained that the firm does not want to be just limited to the institutional adoption of digital currencies but also build products and services which will ensure retail adoption. He explained,

“So there is another side of Bakkt’s business, which is building products and services that drive the adoption and utility of digital assets. That is about all I can say. We have a partnership with Starbucks and we will be launching our mass consumer-facing product next year. Starbucks is one of the merchants that we are working with, to reduce payments and allow consumers to more easily spend digital assets. What we are doing is to make payments faster, cheaper, and more global.”

White also talked about user experience and its importance in mainstream crypto adoption. He said that Bakkt will try to build products and services which are not just efficient but also easy to use. He believed a used need not understand the underneath technology of the product they are using, and in spite of that they should be able to use it with ease, and that's how the firm is approaching the building of their new products.