Bakkt has received approval to launch bitcoin futures contracts – as early as September

A year ago, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the Atlanta-based company that owns the New York Stock Exchange, announced its plans to launch a digital asset platform.

The platform was named Bakkt, a wordplay on “backed” as in “asset-backed securities”, and the purpose of it is to allow customers to, among other things, be able to trade bitcoin futures contracts.

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Received the go-ahead

Bakkt’s futures contracts have already been approved by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Bakkt writes in a blog post.

Now, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) has also given the go-ahead for Bakkt to start the Bakkt Trust Company, which will physically hold bitcoin for futures-based trading, according to a press release.

“We’re starting with the introduction of a regulated and secure qualified custodian for bitcoin to support our futures contracts. The Bakkt Warehouse, which is part of Bakkt Trust Company, is built using the cyber and physical security protections that support the world’s most actively traded markets, including the NYSE”, Bakkt writes in the blog post.

The date for the launch of the new futures contracts is set for September 23. Now, many in the crypto world hope that this announcement will have a positive effect on the bitcoin price as it opens the door to institutional investors.

The @Bakkt news is arguably the most bullish event for institutional investors in the history of bitcoin. PHYSICALLY delivered futures (require the holder to either produce actual bitcoin or take delivery from the exchange) backed by the New York Stock Exchange. We are maturing.

— The Wolf Of All Streets (@scottmelker) August 16, 2019

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