- Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler announced that bitcoin futures will undergo UAT this summer
- The highly-awaited trading platform close to receiving regulatory green light
- At press time, bitcoin is trading above $7,700
On May 13, 2019, Kelly Loeffler, the chief executive of Bakkt, announced that the platform is looking to test its bitcoin futures by July 2019. She, however, did not give an exact date for the official launch of Bakkt’s physical bitcoin-backed futures.
Bakkt to begin UAT this Summer
Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE) highly-anticipated bitcoin futures platform Bakkt will reportedly begin testing its futures contracts this summer, CEO Kelly Loeffler declared.
According to a Medium post, the futures contracts were developed by Bakkt in partnership with ICE Futures U.S. and ICE Clear US. Loeffler said that the platform “has worked closely” with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to help it gather all the necessary regulatory approvals.
Per the blog post, ICE Futures U.S. today filed with the CFTC for bitcoin futures which will be listed on a federally regulated futures exchange in the coming few months.
Further, the blog post notes that Bakkt will be closely working with its clients over the next several weeks to prepare for user acceptance testing (UAT) for futures and custody. Loeffler added that she expects the platform to launch by July 2019.
Futures Contracts Designed Keeping the Customer Appetite in Mind
The anticipation surrounding Bakkt is sky-high because of the involvement of several high-profile enterprises including Starbucks, Microsoft, and the ICE, the company that operates the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE.)
Bakkt’s bitcoin futures have been designed after thorough discussion with multiple stakeholders of the platform. Ample importance has also been given to security and risk management features to ensure that incidents like exchange hacks don’t take place.
The platform will list two kinds of bitcoin futures: A daily settlement BTC future contract and a monthly bitcoin futures contract. While the former will enable customers to transact in same-day market, the latter will allow them to trade in the front month and across the forward pricing curve.
Concluding, the blog post states that Bakkt is also working with the New York State Department of Financial Services “to become a trust company and operate as a qualified custodian for digital assets.
