After announcing earlier this month that it definitively, unequivocally had been given approval to launch cryptocurrency futures trading, Bakkt is ready to take a step closer toward that goal. It has announced that clients can start making deposits into the Bakkt Warehouse beginning September 6 as the platform moves toward a full-blown launch scheduled for September 23.
Bakkt Warehouse is the firm’s official custodian. Bakkt broke the news about the deposit capability on Twitter yesterday, explaining, “On Sept 6, our Warehouse will begin offering secure storage of customer bitcoin to prepare for the launch of Bakkt Bitcoin Daily & Monthly Futures when they launch on Sept 23. These contracts will enable physical delivery of bitcoin with end-to-end regulated markets and custody.”
The futures trading solution to be offered by Bakkt is built around physically-traded crypto, Bitcoin Core (BTC) at first. The traded has long been viewed as a major catalyst for widespread adoption of digital currencies, but this may not be as relevant now. Given how far crypto has advanced on its own and how regulations are being created to guide it further, more people are finally coming to realize that crypto is meant to be used as a currency, not as an investment vehicle.
The Bakkt Warehouse is part of the Bakkt Trust Company. Bakkt received approval by the New York State Department of Financial Services to create the entity, giving it the ability to operate as a custodian for crypto assets and physically delivered futures. The platform has been designed using the same types of security that are offered by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Fitting, given that both Bakkt and the NYSE are owned by the same company, the Intercontinental Exchange.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) have been offering BTC futures products for more than a year and a half. However, their solutions are settled with cash, instead of crypto, when the contracts expire. Bakkt, with its crypto-settled contracts, is breaking into new territory. Despite regulatory approval, the settlement action of the contract is going to present a new quandary for legislators and tax authorities.
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