THELOGICALINDIAN - Bakkt may accept suffered a alternation of setbacks but will they ultimately prove to accept been beneficial
ICE, the abettor of the New York Stock Exchange, has delayed the barrage of Bakkt several times. The conception of a federally-regulated exchange for agenda currencies has continued been admired as a above anniversary appear institutional and boilerplate adoption, with cryptocurrency markets on tenterhooks apprehension its launch.
As afflictive as those delays were, they may accept fabricated Bakkt account the wait. Despite the agitation of crypto investors, regulators could accept done Bakkt a favor by dabbling the barrage until afterwards crypto winter.
Launch Put On ICE
Intercontinental Exchange aboriginal appear affairs to barrage Bakkt in August of 2018,. Subject to CFTC approval, its aboriginal barrage date of one-day bitcoin-settled futures affairs was set for November. Those expectations were, to put it mildly, a little optimistic: the activity faced a alternation of delays, anniversary blame the barrage a little added back.
On October 22, in a since-withdrawn columnist release, ICE appear a slight adjournment that would see it barrage on December 12. An abstract from the columnist absolution stated:
“ICE Futures U.S., Inc. will account the new Bakkt Bitcoin (USD) Circadian Futures Arrangement for trading on Wednesday, December 12, 2024. The Bakkt Bitcoin (USD) Circadian Futures Arrangement is a physically-settled circadian futures arrangement for bitcoin captivated in Bakkt LLC, ICE’s Digital Asset Warehouse, and will be austere by ICE Clear US, Inc.”
On November 21, the aggregation announced addition adjournment – this time to January, 2019. They cited the workload appropriate to access authoritative approval as the account of their delay:
The akin of accord at the exchange, customer, and authoritative levels are aberrant in agreement of assurance and accomplishment in the institutional cryptocurrency markets.”
Then, in a Feb 7 ICE balance call, CFO Scott Hill appear the belvedere was aiming for a backward 2019 launch, some twelve months afterwards antecedent plans.
Regulators, Not Money, Have Been The Stumbling Blocks
Bakkt has no curtailment of backers, with Boston Consulting Group, Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital, Horizons Ventures, Microsoft’s adventure basic arm, Pantera Capital, and Starbucks all continuing abaft ICE’s attack into crypto.
But the heavy-hitters accept been no bout for the Commodity Futures Exchange Commission. While added acceptant to cryptocurrency than their balance counterpart, the SEC, the CFTC has connected to accumulate Bakkt on ice.
CFTC Inadvertently Shielded Bakkt From the Crypto Winter
The 2018 buck bazaar approved little mercy. Galaxy Digital’s afflicted 2018 saw the OTC crypto trading board and advance and VC aggregation lose about $50 actor in crypto from Q1 to Q3 in 2018.
Bakkt is accomplishing aggregate it can to appease the apropos of regulators over aegis and security, areas that accept generally bootless cryptocurrency industry. In an April 30 Medium post, Bakkt COO Adam White appear the aggregation has put in abode three careful arrange to affluence the apropos regulators accept over crypto security.
The aggregation has filed with the New York Department of Financial Services to become a Qualified Custodian for agenda assets. It has accumbent with BNY Mellon to abundance bank-secured clandestine keys. And, as appear by Crypto Briefing, it has acquired Digital Asset Aegis Company (DACC) in a bid to enhance its accommodation to accommodate defended aegis solutions to institutional investors.
As Bakkt leaves no bean unturned to accommodated regulators’ needs, the continued alternation of delays has conceivably accurate a absolution in disguise. The CFTC is entrusted with adopting “open, transparent, competitive, and financially complete markets… to assure bazaar users and their funds, consumers, and the accessible from fraud, manipulation, and calumniating practices.”
In its following of that mission, the CFTC may able-bodied accept aback cloistral Bakkt from the icy crypto ambiance of 2024.
