Altcoin News: ICE Plans to Get NYDFS License for Bakkt Platform

April 19, 2019, by Marko Vidrih on ALTCOIN MAGAZINE

The owner of the New York Stock Exchange, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) intends to obtain a New York license for the Bakkt platform, which has been preparing for the launch for a long time.

Over the past five months, the launch of the platform has been postponed several times already. Apparently, this is due to the delay in approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which must issue an authorization to create a cryptocurrency repository required to offer Bitcoin futures. Apparently, ICE is considering a license from the Department of Financial Services of New York (NYDFS) as a possible solution, reports Bloomberg.

The CFTC is primarily concerned with the protection of customer funds associated with the futures product. At the same time, a state license can help Bakkt obtain Commission approval. Another factor in obtaining a license may be the intention of Bakkt to make retail transactions using Bitcoin possible for companies like Starbucks.

If ICE is licensed by the state of New York, the CFTC may allow the exchange to issue futures through self-certification and circumvent the regulator’s requirement that customer funds be deposited with a bank or trust company. Even with a permit for the storage of cryptocurrencies in the New York State Stock Exchange, CFTC approval for larger stock exchange operations will still be required, the publication notes.

Recall that initially, ICE planned to launch the Bakkt platform in November 2018. Then the launch date was moved to mid-December, and a little later — on January 24th. However, on the eve of the New Year, the launch of the platform was postponed indefinitely. At that time, ICE stated that the launch date “will be changed in accordance with the decision of the CFTC”.

Author: Marko Vidrih