Bakkt Delays Bitcoin Futures Launch Until 2019

Last week was not a pleasant one for bitcoin holders, as the most popular cryptocurrency lost more than 30% of its value.

Unfortunately for them, more bearish news have been announced – as Intercontinental Exchange have announced that their highly anticipated futures contract will not begin trading before January 24, 2019.

Bakkt CEO, Kelly Loeffler, has reassured the public that progress is still being achieved. In a short post on medium, she attributed the delay to the “volume of interest” and the vast amounts of work in preparation for the launch.

Additionally, she pointed out that at present, the company is focusing on customer onboarding and regulatory compliance.

At the time of writing, there is no public confirmation about regulatory approval of the newly-announced date. There is, however, a suggestion that the company has been working closely with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, so we’re anticipating more positive news in the near future.

In her post Loeffler also hinted that while Bitcoin is a clear pick for a first crypto-commodity to launch futures for, as it is the most liquid one and it has the highest market capitalization, Bakkt are open to considering additional contracts in the future.

As we are anticipating further updates on regulatory compliance before the launch date, it’s worth reminding ourselves why Bakkt’s futures contracts were so highly anticipated.

• First and foremost, Intercontinental Exchange is the company that owns the New York Stock Exchange.
• In addition, Bakkt’s first product is evidently taken seriously by the company. They’ve announced that they’ve convinced giants like Microsoft and Starbucks to provide expertise on risk management and consumer experience for the project.
• And unlike some of its competition, Bakkt’s futures will be settled in actual bitcoin, and not in cash.

So while the hopes that a December launch would stabilize the cryptocurrency market have faded, the future still looks promising. Yet, for people looking for immediate reversal of the free fall state of the markets, unfortunately Bakkt will not be the savior.