Bakkt to Launch Consumer Payments App in 2020
- While Bakkt provides futures contracts only for Bitcoin, its new app will most likely support a variety of cryptocurrencies.
- Coffee giant Starbucks will be the first major retailer to commit to the new payment application.
From left to right, Michael Casey, Kelly Loeffler, and Jeff Sprecher (Bakkt) speaking at a CoinDesk conference. CoinDesk
Cryptocurrency trading platform Bakkt is planning to launch an app to help retail customers transact with cryptocurrency, the company said in a blog post on 28 October.
In the announcement the company’s chief product officer, Mike Blandina, said that Bakkt was currently developing an app which will let customers use digital assets when purchasing goods.
He also stated that the app will not only “unlock the value” of digital assets, but will also provide merchants with a “broader set of customers with expanded spending power”.
The new app will most likely support more than just Bitcoin (BTC), which is currently the only digital asset Bakkt provides futures contracts on.
Blandina wrote:
“A key feature of the model we’ve designed is to support a superset of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies as seamlessly as investors transact in stocks in a retail brokerage account. Our vision is to provide a consumer platform for managing a digital asset portfolio, whether they wish to store, transact, trade or transfer their assets.”
Though the Monday announcement did not focus on the specifics of the app’s functionalities, it did announce the first launch partner.
Coffee giant Starbucks has been a partner of Bakkt since its announcement in 2018, and now it seems it will be the first major retailer to commit to the new payment application, which will go live sometime in the first half of 2020.
Maria Smith, Vice President, Partnerships and Payments for Starbucks, said:
“As the flagship retailer, Starbucks will play a pivotal role in developing practical, trusted and regulated applications for consumers to convert their digital assets into US dollars for use at Starbucks. As a leader in Mobile Pay to our more than 15 million Starbucks Rewards members, Starbucks is committed to innovation for expanding payment options for our customers.”
After several delays, Bakkt finally opened trading of physically delivered Bitcoin futures last month. Last week the company also announced that it will be launching the first regulated options contract for Bitcoin on 9 December.
- While the pilot will be limited to certain Quiznos locations in the city, customers will be able to receive a $15 BTC reward for paying with Bitcoin.
- The pilot was made possible through a partnership with Bakkt, and could be expanded to other locations in the country should it be successful.
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- The Bakkt App aims to aggregate cryptocurrency holdings with other digital assets such as airline miles, gift cards and loyalty points.
- Launching partners of the app include coffee giant Starbucks, Best Buy, Choice Hotels, Fiserv and GolfNow.
- Bakkt is reportedly in talks to go public through a merger with VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings.
- The merger would value the company at more than $2 billion.