Many are wondering if Bitcoin is about to hit its lowest this year. Bitcoin dipped below $6,000 yet again. The last time we saw Bitcoin reach its lowest this year was on June 18 when the digital currency was trading at around $5,700. In fact, there is even a prediction that Bitcoin could actually hit $4,000. Right now, Ethereum was able to hit its lowest since September 2017.
Though things aren’t looking exciting on cryptocurrencies, development such as the partnership of Intercontinental Exchange with Microsoft and Starbucks should be considered good news for the entire market. Keep in mind that it has the ability to change the overall landscape of the industry. The new venture, Bakkt can be considered a good thing despite the lack of movement that it brought to the market.
Jeff Sprecher who is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange, the same company that owns the NYSE, is considered a key figure in finance. He has been able to modernize exchanges over the years. For Bakkt, Sprecher is working with Kelly Loeffler. As for Loeffler, she has worked with ICE since 2002 handling different roles within the company. She is going to be the CEO of Bakkt.
Bakkt Bringing Cryptos to Mainstream?
One of the main priorities of Bakkt is to bring cryptocurrencies into the mainstream. In order to achieve this mission, ICE partnered with companies such as Microsoft and Starbucks. According to Loeffler, this partnership is “designed to serve as a scalable on-ramp for institutional, merchant, and consumer participation in digital assets by promoting greater efficiency, security, and utility”.
This means that Bakkt is looking to cater not only to institutional investors but also to merchants and consumers. It is clear that Bakkt is looking to cater to everyone who is interested in cryptocurrencies. And for this reason, it isn’t surprising why ICE teamed up with both Microsoft and Starbucks. Starbucks is simply a leading retail presence that could popularize the use of cryptocurrencies in buying small items.
As for Microsoft, though Bill Gates has been known as a critic of cryptocurrencies, there is no denying that Microsoft could play a vital role in promoting cryptocurrencies to institutional investors, merchants, and consumers. What ICE could offer to the market is a trusted third party, which is something that is currently lacking in today’s crypto world.
Legitimate Transactions for Institutional Investors
In 2018, regulatory clarity has been seen as an important factor that can convince institutional investors to dabble in cryptos. ICE operates two of the biggest commodities futures exchanges. You have the ICE Futures US and ICE Futures Europe. Both of these are regulated and can be considered trustworthy by institutional investors.
Can Bakkt cater to merchants, institutional investors, and consumers? Will it be able to provide the answer that can finally help boost the price of cryptos? Or is everyone simply too focused on ETFs that they are forgetting this development is actually taking place? Though many have missed this, Bakkt is a much bigger news compared to other things covered by crypto news websites.
