Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, is making a big move. Together with Microsoft and Starbucks it is launching a new digital asset platform which promises to be revolutionary.

The company’s name will be Bakkt and it “will hold and manage people’s cryptocurrency.” It will be led by Kelly Loeffler who also happens to be ICE’s CEO Jeffrey Sprecher’ wife. Its core will be Microsoft cloud tech and it will allow converting BTC to US dollars and other fiat currencies. The creators chose Bitcoin due to its high liquidity.

Starbucks, the renowned coffee chain, and Boston Consulting Group are also reportedly joining in. ” Starbucks will leverage the platform to allow their customers to use digital assets at their coffee shops,” writes Nordic Business Insider.

“In bringing regulated, connected infrastructure together with institutional and consumer applications for digital assets, we aim to build confidence in the asset class on a global scale, consistent with our track record of bringing transparency and trust to previously unregulated markets,” said ICE’s CEO Jeffrey Sprecher in a statement.

It is hard to underestimate the importance of ICE’s decision to enter the crypto market. The latter lacks trust and ICE is not the only company to recognize that. Binance thinks the same which is why it has recently partnered with Trust Wallet. Fortune rightly notes “With the creation of Bakkt, ICE aims to transform Bitcoin into a trusted global currency with broad usage.” It then adds, “The goal is to clear the way for major money managers to offer Bitcoin mutual funds, pension funds, and ETFs, as highly regulated, mainstream investments.”
Indeed, the appetites of Bakkt and its evangelists are big. And Loeffler has made it clear that she is ready to step up the game and make crypto payments common and safe. If she succeeds, then there is a great chance that crypto might indeed become mainstream in a decade. Especially, if Bakkt manages to replace credit cards with BTC apps and hence reduce high credit card payments fees.
“The market opportunity is gigantic: Consumers worldwide are paying lofty credit card or online-shopping fees on $25 trillion a year in annual purchases,” writes Fortune.
It is hard to disagree that the undertaking is more than promising. And it comes at a time when the crypto market needs these positive steps air due to the unstopping FUD.
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Lesia Dubenko
A warm hello from Ukraine! My name is Lesia, I am a journalist, writer, political scientist, and crypto enthusiast. Before joining AltcoinBuzz in May I knew nothing about crypto, I was in the dark (it was very gloomy indeed). I was all skeptic and suspicious. But then one day, probably in June-July when I was doing a podcast with James and Matt, I finally grasped the concept in full. That is when I truly started to enjoy it thoroughly. I am a big believer in crypto and blockchain. There is no doubt that it is the future. But be patient, it needs time, like a fine Chardonnay. However, if you want to know when the next bull run is happening, I highly recommend asking Luc Lammers. He will definitely spill the beans! xxx

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