August marked the launch of Bakkt, a new blockchain and cryptocurrency project that nurtures involvement from mainstream companies such as Microsoft and Starbucks. The essence of Bakkt is that it could inspire a great deal of institutional investment and could make things like Bitcoin ETF applications far more likely to be improved. On a market level, Bakkt isn’t going to change things straight away, but in terms of institutional mainstream adoption Bakkt really does have the opportunity to bring Bitcoin to the fore, through their plans to offer an institutional grade cryptocurrency exchange. The CEO of Bakkt, Kelly Loeffler has taken to Medium to discuss ‘An Evolving Market’ and how Bakkt will play a huge role within this, you can see the full post for yourself, here. According to Loeffler:
“The internet, where we see this dialogue unfolding transparently, is a global network that today we take for granted. But nearly 20 years ago when the web was in its infancy, the spark for digital assets was there. It sticks with me that back then, Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman predicted that e-cash would emerge. And now are we seeing the promise of a true digital currency. Whether you’re an investment manager seeking federally regulated, institutional trading and security solutions or a consumer looking for more choice in transacting, we’re working to make the vision for wider application of digital assets a reality.”Bakkt believe that institutional investment is going to drive the markets, like many of us believe too. So, how are they going to make their service different and how is Bakkt going to do what no other crypto project has managed to do before? Bakkt understand that regulation is important and needs to be consistent, transparency and price discovery is vital too and finally, they believe that the platform needs to have a quality pre and post trade infrastructure. Support for the institutions, within a platform that is quick and simple to use. Furthermore, according to Loeffler:
“A critical element to price discovery is physical delivery. Specifically, with our solution, the buying and selling of Bitcoin is fully collateralized or pre-funded. As such, our new daily Bitcoin contract will not be traded on margin, use leverage, or serve to create a paper claim on a real asset. This supports market integrity and differentiates our effort from existing futures and crypto exchanges which allow for margin, leverage and cash settlement. Coupled with a secure, regulated warehouse solution, you can begin to see how this market infrastructure can help more institutions and consumers participate in the asset class.”When we say Bakkt is a big deal, we really mean it.Please see Loefflers’ full announcement in order to understand the full scale of this, Bakkt promises some great things, things that will in turn see institutional interest in Bitcoin spike, which could in turn, encourage Bitcoin adoption on a scale like we have never seen before.Of course, we can’t tell when Bakkt will start to make a difference and we can’t see where either. We just know that from now onwards, Bakkt is promising some big things, with Loeffler at the helm, we’ve got a lot of confidence in this project, as does the rest of the crypto sphere is seems. Investment Disclaimer