New York Exchange Chairman Optimistic About Bakkt And Crypto Future

The Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, Jeff Sprecher, has described Bakkt – a platform for Bitcoin trading – as a “moonshot bet” for NYSE’s parent company, International Exchange.

Even though there have been a few setbacks regarding the inauguration of the trading platform, Jeff Sprecher is still very hopeful that the company, Bakkt, will grow to reach heights that it is currently being developed to reach. Sprecher has said that “It’s a bit of a moonshot bet and it’s been organized in a manner that is very different than the way ICE (International Exchange) typically does businesses.”

Sprecher, going on to reveal that the trading service will operate differently, said that “Bakkt has its own offices, its own management team, etc. They’re well along in building out an infrastructure that I think you’ll see launch later this year.”

Bakkt is currently being bankrolled by a combination of the International Exchange, Starbucks, Microsoft and BCG. This is probably one of the reasons Sprecher is confident about how well the company will perform in the near future.

Also, the fact that the company’s CEO is Kelly Loeffler, who is Jeff’s wife, could mean that Jeff is trying to keep a close eye on the company and monitor its operations even if he can’t always be there physically.

The trading platform was supposed to kick off in January but this was suspended as a result of the shutdown the United States government experienced. Bakkt, is also designed to deliver and process Bitcoin in such a way that is free from scam or general exploitation in the market.

With regards to funding, Sprecher has revealed that the International Exchange is the chief financial backer. Nonetheless, there are plans to continue to source for more financial support for the platform in the near future.

One of the reasons for this is probably because according to ICE’s Chief Financial Officer, Scott Hill, Bakkt’s expenses in the first quarter will reach the $20 million mark. Speaking during an ICE conference call, Scott said

“Our investment in Bakkt will generate $20 million to $25 million of expense based upon the run rate in the first quarter. We will update you on progress at Bakkt and the level of investment as we move through the year.”

Paying no regard to the bear market in the crypto sector, Jeff Sprecher has revealed that considerable interest in the company does exist. He said:

“That infrastructure has attracted a lot of very, very interesting companies that have come: Some that have invested in Bakkt, some are just working with Bakkt to try to tap into that infrastructure for some new use cases that will involve blockchain and digital assets. Obviously, we’ve announced our work with Starbucks and Microsoft. We have very, very large retail franchises…that we hope will be brought into that ecosystem and could create a very, very valuable company out of that initiative if our business plan plays out.”

Sprecher also believes that although there is a crash in the crypto market, the market will survive.

Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP (Ripple), and BCH Price Analysis Watch (Feb 13th)

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