Skip to main content

Bakkt launches payments app as institutions compete for crypto assets

Bakkt believes its new crypto payments app will unlock more than $1 trillion worth of digital assets for commerce.

Major financial institutions are expanding their cryptocurrency services, with Bakkt launching its digital asset payments application for the general public.

Bakkt was launched by Intercontinental Exchange in 2018, with the firm offering Bitcoin futures contracts to accredited investors exclusively. The Bakkt App is the firm’s first retail-facing crypto initiative.

Bakkt’s app was trialed by 500,000 users invited to participate in its Early Access Program in late 2020. The firm is also conducting a $1 million giveaway to encourage people to download the platform.

Launched on March 30, the payments app allows users to manage Bitcoin and other digital assets, including loyalty points and vouchers, to make purchases. More than 75 major brands are offering discounted gift cards to purchasers who use the Bakkt app, including Choice Hotels, GolfNow, and Best Buy.

Users can also manage their Starbucks Card balance through the platform. Karl Hebert Starbucks’ VP of global card, commerce, and payment, said:

“Starbucks is proud to be an innovation partner with Bakkt. Our teams worked closely together as Bakkt sought input in developing a unique and trusted payment experience that enables customers to unlock the value of their digital assets in the form of US dollars.”

“We’re thrilled to bring the Bakkt App to the public as a step along our journey to expand digital asset access to all,” he added.

In the announcement, Bakkt stated the application is intended to enable “consumers and merchants to unlock the value of $1.2 trillion in digital assets” by incentivizing their use in commerce: “The Bakkt App is designed to amplify consumer spending, reduce payment costs, and bolster merchant loyalty programs."

The payments platform appears to have first been conceived as a partnership between Bakkt and Stabucks in 2019, with Bakkt determining it would release the platform as a standalone app the following year.

The app’s launch comes as competition between financial institutions is heating up in the crypto asset sector, with PayPal rolling out crypto payments for 29 million merchants and Visa unveiling plans for USDC to be exchanged across its credit card network earlier this week.

Goldman Sachs is also moving to expand its cryptocurrency services, with a leaked memo revealing the creation of a Digital Assets Group within its private wealth management division. The group will be tasked with advising clients on digital assets and developing crypto investment products.



from https://ift.tt/3m72lJh
https://ift.tt/3uf2YTE
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Any questions, Please.

Popular posts from this blog

Five Bitcoin Price Charts Analyzing The Dramatic Q1 2022 Conclusion

There are only hours remaining until the Q1 2022 close in Bitcoin price action. With the important quarterly candle set to close tonight, let’s look at what technicals might say about the direction of the next quarter. Q1 2022 Comes To A Close For Bitcoin The first quarter of a year, often sets the tone for the year to come. In investments, a poor Q1 performance is indicative of a bad year ahead. Considering the fact that Bitcoin price is now above $45,000 after touching $32,000 this quarter, it is tough to say the performance has been “poor” by anything other than crypto standards. Related Reading | Bitcoin Weekly Momentum Flips Bullish For First Time In 2022 The cryptocurrency has recovered nearly 40% from the low, leaving a long wick behind. Such a long wick suggests that before the quarter came to a close, buyers stepped up in a major way. Buyers were able to step up in a larger capacity in Q1 2022 than bears were able to in the final quarter of last year. The bearish wick to cl...
Post a Comment
Read more

FTX hacker reportedly transfers a portion of stolen funds to OKX after using Bitcoin mixer

On-chain activity suggests that the hacker has sent at least 225 BTC (4.5 million) to OKX so far. Hackers who drained FTX and FTX USA of over $450 million worth of assets just moments after the doomed crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11, continue to move assets around in an attempt to launder the money.  A crypto analyst who goes by ZachXBT on Twitter alleged that the FTX hackers have transferred a portion of the stolen funds to the OKX exchange, after using the Bitcoin mixer ChipMixer. The analyst reported that at least 225 BTC — worth $4.1 million USD — has been sent to OKX so far.  1/ Myself and @bax1337 spent this past weekend looking into the FTX attacker’s deposits to ChipMixer. It appears they’ve likely been transferring a portion of the stolen FTX funds to OKX after withdrawing from CM So far we’ve accounted for at least $4.1m (255 BTC) sent to OKX pic.twitter.com/C46JZWtktn — ZachXBT (@zachxbt) November 29, 2022 According to ZachXBT, the FTX h...
Post a Comment
Read more

2 metrics signal the $1T crypto market cap support likely won’t hold

Despite the 8.5% weekly rally in cryptocurrencies, the lack of stablecoin premiums in Asia and futures markets activity shows buyers’ lack of confidence. Cryptocurrencies broke the $1 trillion market capitalization resistance on Oct. 26, which had been holding strong for the previous 41 days. Despite Bitcoin’s ( BTC ) modest 5.5% weekly gains, the aggregate value of 20,000 listed tokens increased by 8.5% between Oct. 24 and 31. Total crypto market cap, USD (in billions). Source: TradingView The cryptocurrency market was positively impacted by a 6.3% weekly rally in the Russell 2000 mid-capitalization stock market index. Some encouraging news accompanied the positive tailwinds from traditional markets. For instance,  55,000 BTC was withdrawn from Binance on Oct. 26, a record high. Typically, analysts consider the reduced number of coins deposited on exchanges a bullish indicator, as the immediate selling pressure eases. Moreover, exchange and wallet provider Blockchain.com ...
Post a Comment
Read more