THELOGICALINDIAN - The buyer of the New York Stock Barter Intercontinental Barter abashed abounding on Wall Street afresh with a appear takeover bid for ecommerce barter Ebay Now the accumulation is aggressively aggravating to advance its adapted bitcoin derivatives barter Bakkt into the retail amplitude with its latest accretion of a adherence solutions provider
Also Read: Bakkt Launches Bitcoin Options in US, Futures in Asia
Bakkt to Acquire Loyalty Points Wallet Provider
Bakkt, the agenda assets accessory of the ancestor of the New York Stock Exchange , Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE), has so far focused on accouterment institutional investors with adapted crypto derivatives instruments such as bitcoin futures and options. Now it’s branch into the retail market. On Wednesday ICE has appear that it has agreed to access Bridge2 Solutions, a provider of adherence solutions, and that afterward the achievement of this transaction, Bakkt will access Bridge2 Solutions in about-face from its ancestor company.
The additional appearance acquirement will be fabricated application gain from a Series B annular of allotment which is accepted to abutting after this quarter. The banking capacity of the accord accept not been appear about as of yet. When Bridge2 Solutions ultimately joins Bakkt, the accession hopes the cardinal aggregate will advance the development of its customer app, which will accommodate agenda asset aggregation, about-face and payments through a distinct platform.
According to its website, Bridge2 Solutions works with some of the world’s arch brands and admiral programs for seven of the top 10 banking institutions. It operates 4,500 loyalty, allurement and agent advantage programs for companies beyond a advanced spectrum of industries. The company’s Adherence Pay band-aid gives consumers the adeptness to pay with accolade credibility both at the point of auction (PoS) in retail food and in-app through agenda wallets. Integrating with Bakkt may acquiesce its retail ally to action adherence programs based on cryptocurrencies or tokens too.
“With the barrage of the Bakkt app, we will, for the aboriginal time, action consumers a able-bodied belvedere to consolidate and use all of their agenda assets, from crypto to adherence credibility to in bold tokens, in one convenient wallet,” said Mike Blandina, CEO of Bakkt. “Combining Bridge2 Solutions’ anchored relationships with banks and merchants and their avant-garde Adherence Pay band-aid will accredit us to barrage new articles that added drive adherence and empower consumers to trade, alteration and absorb agenda assets in absolutely new ways.”
ICE Pushes Into Retail With Ebay and Bridge2
Intercontinental Exchange owns and operates about a dozen adapted disinterestedness exchanges and marketplaces about the apple such as the New York Stock Exchange. That’s why it afraid abounding on Wall Street back it was appear a brace of canicule ago that the accounts behemothic has fabricated a bid to booty over e-commerce exchange Ebay (NASDAQ: EBAY). On Tuesday ICE denied the media letters with a account that it “approached Ebay to analyze a ambit of abeyant opportunities that ability actualize amount for the shareholders of both companies. Ebay has not affianced in a allusive way. We are not in negotiations apropos the auction of all or allotment of Ebay.”
Regarding the latest Bakkt accretion deal, it ability be able to anatomy the move as a new focus on retail consumers, abnormally adolescent bodies that are added acclimated to arcade online than advance in equities.
Hinting at the acumen abaft the Bridge2 Solutions deal, ICE acclaimed that the all-around ecosystem for agenda assets represents over $1.2 abundance in amount and includes agenda rewards, adherence points, in-game basic assets, merchant stored value, allowance cards and cryptocurrencies. “Millennial consumers, in particular, embrace this anatomy of value,” ICE stated. “Whether they are monetizing adherence credibility from a admired airline or trading banknote for a video game, the Bakkt app will accredit consumers to alleviate abundant of that value, acceptance them to barter and absorb their agenda assets freely, as they would any added currency.”
“Bakkt was created to advice accompany accuracy and assurance to the ahead able agenda asset markets,” said Jeffrey Sprecher, CEO of ICE. “With the barrage of the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt futures and options markets, the aggregation has accomplished quick success with its aegis and trading offering. Bakkt’s additional annular of funding, and its accretion of Bridge2 Solutions, will advice advance the development of Bakkt’s customer application, which has been a key allotment of our action back we aboriginal looked at this market.”
What do you anticipate about ICE blame Bakkt into the retail agenda wallet amplitude with this acquisition? Share your thoughts in the comments area below.
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