Bakkt Completes First Funding Round and Eyes CFTC Licence

Bakkt, a digital asset exchange in which many investors have high hopes, has recently announced completing the first round of fundraising with a result of $ 182.5 million has completed. What is known about this new exchange so far and what are its plans for the next year?

What Do we Know About Bakkt for Now?

According to the description on its official page, Bakkt offers the world's "firstphysically based bitcoin futures." As the company representatives state this new exchange was designed to “enable consumers and institutions to freely buy, sell, store and spend digital assets, to ensure its trust, efficiency and commerce". The results of the first successful round of financing were announced by Bakkt’s CEO, Kelly Löffler. She also said that the “long bear market of 2018 did not affect the prospects of the stock exchanges, or its 12 prominent partners and the prospects of investors.” “We have worked to create new markets and products. Those of us who are building Bakkt have earned our strength by helping to market the once-emerging asset classes, from energy to credit derivatives and, now, bitcoins. The path to new markets is rarely linear: progress tends to modulate between innovation, dismissal, re-invention, and finally adoption,” Löffler added. Partners and investors supporting Bakkt include organizations like Boston Consulting Group, CMT Digital, Eagle Seven, Galaxy Digital, Goldfinch Partners, Alan Howard, Horizons Ventures, Intercontinental Exchange, Microsoft Venture Capital, M12, Pantera Capital, PayU and others. Bakkt CEO said that she and other company supporters do not focus on the Bitcoin pricebehavior as it "distracts attention from what is happening with this cryptocurrency in a whole." Löffler noted that technological breakthroughs take a lot of time, and the price effect is not always the best for measuring growth.

Bakkt Plans For 2019

At the moment Bakkt focuses on ensuring compliance with the regulatory requirements of the Commission on Futures and Commodity Trading (CFTC). It will allow the company to provide institutional access to digital assets. In addition, Bakkt focuses on commercial and consumer use. According to Loffler, the exchange has already collaborated with large companies such as Starbucks. As Löffler stated in one of her interviews, the company focuses on the possibilities of providing "new infrastructure, including the industry's first regulated exchange services, clearing and warehousing services for physical delivery and storage. " The company CEO added that market quality, regulation, scope, safety, and utility are "critical to creating a solid foundation where innovation can flourish." According to the executive director of the new exchange platform, their first step is to establish trust and infrastructure that expand participation of the company at the institutional and trade level. According to the experts on the, Bakkt may play an important role in the development of cryptocurrency ecosystem and in the future implementation of Bitcoin and blockchain technologies.

Is Bakkt Launch Postponed?

Bakkt works closely with the CFTC to obtain regulatory approval for newly established futures contracts with BTC. However, the recent shutdown of the government in the United States may again delay regulatory approval. As stated in the company's official application, after consultation with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, ICE Futures U.S., Inc. plans to provide an updated launch schedule in early 2019 for trading, clearing and warehousing Bakkt Bitcoin (USD) on a day-to-day futures contract. The launch was scheduled for January 24, 2019, but it will be amended according to the process and time frame of the CFTC. Although the launch of Bakkt will again be delayed, the exchange will continue to operate in the background.

Via atozmarkets.com