(BlockBar) The Bakkt, a Bitcoin Futures Exchange, is now testing Bitcoin future contracts and is expected to be officially online by the end of September.
More than a year ago, Bakkt made a high-profile announcement of $183 million in financing from 12 top institutions. Even at a bear market, its valuation exceeded $740 million. Bakkt is seen as the light of a bear market. The market believes that traditional institutions are waiting for a formal channel to enter the market. As long as the market supports the traditional institutions with legal tools, the encrypted currency market will expand ten or even a hundred times in the future, and the currency price will rise with the growth of entry funds. But it’s not easy. Since August last year, Bakkt, which has delayed its launch many times, has faced difficulties from regulators. However, the Bakkt starting tests seems to imply that the introduction of bitcoin futures products is imminent.
In August 2018, ICE Intercontinental Exchange announced plans to establish its subsidiary Bakkt. As the world’s second largest network of regulated exchanges and clearing houses, ICE covers 14 securities and futures exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange, the Canadian Futures Exchange, the Paris Stock Exchange and the London International Financial Futures Exchange, as well as five clearing houses. In ICE’s expectations, Bakkt aims to create an open and regulated global ecosystem for the digital asset market.
The launch of Bitcoin futures is the first step for Bakkt. Unlike CME and CBOE, which have already launched Bitcoin futures products, Bakkt’s Bitcoin futures are traded in real Bitcoin rather than in US dollars. Soon after, ambitious Bakkt announced $183 million in financing from 12 investors, including Horizons Venture, invested by Li Ka-shing, Naspers, Microsoft Venture Capital M12, Galaxy Digital, Boston Consulting Group, ICE etc.
Bitcoin bartering has higher requirements for exchanges. Futures exchanges settled in Bitcoin need solutions for trusteeship, warehousing and delivery. In addition, the absence of encrypted currency asset custody has been hindering funds into the encrypted money market. Bakkt’s online time has been delayed repeatedly. In an interview, J. Christopher Giancarlo, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), said that one of the challenges facing institutions was to assess how futures exchanges store encrypted currencies.
The latest news is that Bakkt will begin testing on July 22. On July 18, the board of directors of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) held a commencement ceremony for Bitcoin clearing futures. Foreign media believe that it shows that Bakkt has been approved by CFTC.
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