Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has become a major player since it was founded in the year 2000. The company owns no less than 23 regulated marketplaces and exchanges spanning the financial and commodities markets. Its exchanges include the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE), and it also operates six clearing houses. With offices across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, ICE is a truly international operation. And with total assets in excess of $78 billion it’s a force to be reckoned with. So today’s announcement that ICE will be launching a digital asset platform later this year is huge news for the crypto space.
The platform will be created under a new entity, Bakkt, and will be a fully regulated ecosystem for the buying, selling and storage of a wide range of digital assets. Working alongside some true household names including Microsoft, BCG and Starbucks, ICE say they aim to develop a platform which offers a whole suite of services to both individuals and businesses, and operates seamlessly on a global scale. Supporting the flow of digital asset transactions, the platform has the potential to significantly bolster the security and efficiency of the markets in this still nascent sector.
CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher said that ICE “aim to build confidence in the asset class on a global scale” with the aim of “bringing transparency and trust to previously unregulated markets.” Sean Collins, a spokesman from BCG, said that “blockchain technology holds tremendous potential to enable new business models” and that Bakkt will “enable firms across industries to accelerate a range of innovation.”
Focusing initially on the provision of a trading and conversion services between fiat currencies and Bitcoin, the platform is expected to offer a physically delivered Bitcoin contract by the end of this year, pending approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). ICE are also planning a guarantee fund that will be supported by the new venture.
This is truly bullish news for crypto markets, but it failed to impact significantly on market caps today. Bitcoin regained just a little of the ground it has lost in recent days to reach $7468, and combined market cap recovered slightly to just $265 billion.
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