Well, so much for the thinking that bitcoin will never catch on as a medium of exchange. Late last year Starbucks acquired a significant partnership stake in the NYSE's new crypto trading platform (Bakkt). Speculation was correct in that it appears it was not just a "pure no-cash" investment by Starbucks, but rather a way to partner and use Bakkt's payment software in its stores to be able to accept bitcoin and other cryptos for purchases. The latter part of 2019 is the target date for the "coffee for bitcoin" swap. Now the skeptics will point out (after a whole week) that the transactions are not significant, BUT lets have that conversation in, say, five years. Oh by the way, following Starbucks is supermarket chain Kroger in exploring bitcoin/crypto acceptance. More to come. Read more details below.
Bill Taylor/ Fintek Capital
"New leaked information shows that Starbucks has received a “significant stake” in the Bakkt crypto platform in exchange for Starbucks installing Bakkt’s payment software in its stores, allowing customers to pay with Bitcoin & Crypto.
In August last year, Starbucks surprisingly announced that they will work with the Bitcoin futures platform Bakkt. What was initially interpreted as accepting Starbucks payments in Bitcoin, was later clarified as a partnership in which Bakkt “only takes over the trading and conversion of Bitcoin in Fiat currencies”, with which customers can pay for articles at Starbucks. Instead of paying directly with Bitcoin for a coffee at Starbucks, there is still a conversion of Bitcoin (through the Bakkt software) into Fiat.
Still, many people were curious as to why the partnership actually came about and what Starbucks would expect to associate with Bitcoin. A recent report shows that Starbucks actually had something to “acquire”, namely a “significant stake” in Bakkt. The coffee giant acquired its shares in a mutually beneficial agreement. Although the details are not known, the share was described as “disproportionately high” because they did not invest cash. “..."
Full Story at TheBitcoinNews.com