Bakkt, the Bitcoin futures trading platform for institutions, had generated considerable positive buzz prior to its actual launch in mid-2019. The platform is backed by ICE, and since its launch, it has seen steady growth in its daily trading volume. It had already surpassed the milestone of 6,000 Bakkt Bitcoin Futures contracts delivered. These are contracts traded on ICE Futures US.
Days ago, during a closed Bakkt event in Tel Aviv attended by various outlets, President Adam White discussed the current state of crypto regulations, along with Bakkt's plans. He also hinted at Bakkt's upcoming contracts beyond Bitcoin. According to White, Bakkt is the world's first and only fully regulated end-to-end marketplace when it comes to Bitcoin price discovery.
[amazon box="B00R6MKDDE"]The only fully regulated Bitcoin market
What does that mean? Bakkt has regulated custody, regulated exchange trading, and regulated clarity. Bakkt is not vertically integrated. It has a monolithic structure that is a custodian, and according to White, this type of model is essential, unlike other markets where custodian and chains tend to be separate.
White, as one of Coinbase's first employees, doesn't see them as custodians at all. “I was one of Coinbase's first employees, and their custodian didn't even call it custody. It was just a byproduct of what I had to do to be able to trade,” White explained. “We believe it's really important that, while ICE is a majority shareholder and investor in Bakkt, it's not our outright owner.”
Unregulated places won't last forever
White states that ICE is helping to bring cryptocurrency trading into regulated markets, and that much of what he and his team do is done in collaboration with regulators in the U.S. and abroad.
Unlike Bakkt's regulated way of having its market data based on its futures contracts physically delivered, White sees a challenge with unregulated exchanges in the fact that its market data is self-reported and there is no oversight. regulatory there.
«We are seeing trading offshore, in unregulated places, with very little KYC, no AML, these days will not last forever«And yes, White points directly to BitMEX, Bybit and the other leading crypto margin exchanges. "Regulators are slow, but persistent, and will not allow this to happen indefinitely.". White concludes.
