Bakkt Bitcoin Futures about to be approved by SEC

Intertcontinental Exchange Inc (ICE) is working on the first Bitcoin futures that can be paid out directly in crypto currencies. All necessary regulations and requirements are currently being reviewed in collaboration with the CFTC with a view to obtaining approval in early 2019.

Bakkt is considered a great hope among many crypto investors to initiate a new crypto spring and see the courses rise. The Exchange recently announced that while the Bitcoin futures to be introduced will work in the same way as existing futures products, at maturity they can be paid out directly in Bitcoin rather than in fiat currency.

New today from @Rubinations @WSJ: “The first futures contract that will pay out in cryptocurrency rather than cash is expected to soon get regulatory approval” https://t.co/bcfbn7wMRf

– Bakkt (@Bakkt) 20 December 2018

The WSJ report describes that the proposal is currently being fine-tuned, but should be launched as soon as possible in 2019. Kelly Loeffler, CEO of ICE, explains that the approval of this application will bring new confidence to the cryptographic market and investors, as Bitcoin will be accessible to investors in a regulated space (freely translated):

When digital assets have more confidence and regulation, people will find it easier to use digital assets as currency. It’s great to have cash settled, but there’s a need for the physical delivery of Bitcoin.

In this way, institutional investors in particular should have a secure way of investing even larger amounts of capital simply and securely without a greater risk of default:

We are creating an infrastructure that does not exist today. For us, this is a great opportunity for institutional investors.

As we reported earlier, Nasdaq also plans to launch Bitcoin futures in early 2019. Nasdaq is working. In addition to aggregating large investors, Bakkt also wants to promote the use of crypto currencies in our daily lives. This includes the provision of interfaces to use crypto currencies for daily shopping. In cooperation with Microsoft, an open, regulated global ecosystem for digital assets with cloud-based systems is to be developed. The official launch date for Bakkt is January 24, 2019.