Intercontinental Exchange's Bakkt Enters Crypto Asset Custody

Still trying to please the regulators and launch a bitcoin futures exchange, Bakkt (owned by the Intercontinental Exchange) has just acquired Digital Asset Custody Company (uh, wonder what they do) and partnered with BNY Mellon which is a custodial bank. The aim is to position Bakkt as a fully regulated top-to-bottom digital asset trading/custodial futures exchange. Whew! Bakkt, which was to have launched in November of last year, is still seeking regulatory approval since Bakkt's bitcoin futures will settle daily in physical bitcoins. With co-investors Starbucks and Microsoft, Bakkt looked to possibly be able to link with them so bitcoins could be used to buy Starbucks coffee and products from Microsoft. Obviously regulators have some "issues" with all this and hence the acquisition of the custody company. Confused? So are the regulators.

Oh, a side note - if futures settle daily and basically trade at 'spot' bitcoin price, is it really a future? Tricky. A bit more info below.

Bill Taylor/Fintek Capital

"Bakkt has acquired crypto custodian, Digital Asset Custody Company, and partnered with custodial bank, BNY Mellon. These developments are part of its strategy to provide a fully regulated, end-to-end crypto asset custody and trading ecosystem for institutional investors.

Bakkt, the highly anticipated bitcoin futures exchange and custody provider, is owned by Intercontinental Exchange, owners of the New York Stock Exchange. Bakkt will offer a range of crypto asset services to institutional investors, a development that is being closely watched by the crypto industry as an indication that the space is maturing.

Bakkt Bolsters its custodial offering

A key part of the Bakkt offering is a state of the art, enterprise grade custody solution that meets the needs of institutional investors holding large amounts of crypto assets. This week Bakkt announced that it has acquired crypto asset custodian solutions provider, Digital Asset Custody Company, and entered into a partnership with Bank of New York Mellon to offer geographically-distributed storage of private keys.

Founded in 2017, the New Jersey based Digital Asset Custody Company provides an institutional grade custodian service, including multi-blockchain support, professional financial reporting, and digital asset insurance..."