The highly-anticipated launch of Bitcoin futures trading platform Bakkt

The company, which is owned by the same group that runs the New York Stock Exchange, had initially announced a start date of December 12, 2018.

Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler said the change in timeline was due to a number of factors, including the level of interest in the platform.

“Given the volume of interest in Bakkt and work required to get all of the pieces in place, we will now be targeting January 24, 2019 for our launch to ensure that our participants are ready to trade on Day 1,” Ms Loeffler said in a blog post.

“As is often true with product launches, there are new processes, risks and mitigants to test and re-test, and in the case of crypto, a new asset class to which these resources are being applied.

“So it makes sense to adjust our timeline as we work with the industry toward launch.”

Bakkt claims to have made significant progress in recent weeks, as it tries to build a unique product offering.

“I’m pleased to announce that we have insurance for bitcoin in cold storage and are in the process of securing insurance for the warm wallet within the Bakkt Warehouse architecture,” Ms Loeffler said.

“We are focused on every aspect of delivering an institutional grade crypto warehouse solution and believe this is a significant step in building confidence in this asset class.” M