Regulated markets accelerate the adoption of digital assets

With today’s successful launch of the Bakkt Bitcoin Futures contracts, we have taken an important step toward bringing trusted infrastructure to digital assets. As institutions enter this emerging asset class, they will continue to look to secure infrastructure and the regulatory certainty that it provides. Importantly, these futures contracts now serve as benchmarks established by a trusted price discovery process upon which investors can rely.

As the markets opened overnight — as previewed by Fortune Magazine — I reflected on a frequent question since we announced the formation of Bakkt last August: in the evolution of the broader crypto space, why does it matter that physical-delivery futures now trade in ICE’s federally regulated markets? Perhaps more importantly: to whom does it matter?

As it turns out, it matters to a broad range of stakeholders. With the successful launch of US-regulated physical delivery bitcoin futures for the first time, the details may matter less than the simple fact that such trading now exists. In working with customers and regulators to develop products that meet their standards for trading, investing, custody and payments, there are a few fundamental truths we’ve heard, regardless of the audience or the application:

Reliable and regulated infrastructure matters to investors and consumers alike. Digital assets represent value, and when it comes to tools for managing anything of value, infrastructure reliability can’t be taken lightly. This is brought home by reports of hacking, scams or other headlines highlighting the risks inherent in new markets, and the need for new solutions like Bakkt that help address these concerns. Digital currency represents both new technology and new financial instruments, and trust is central to the adoption of both. With operations, cybersecurity and controls, along with end-to-end-regulation demanded by investors and consumers, confidence in using digital currency — not just to invest, but to also use in transacting — will grow. Innovative ways of managing and transferring digital value are expanding rapidly. This expansion is happening more quickly than most can keep pace with. Companies, countries and consumers are driving demand for ways to leverage this paradigm-shifting technology. There’s an opportunity to converge existing platforms with emerging technology to overcome barriers to adoption.

These are the concepts upon which we are building Bakkt. We’re starting with the basics: instilling trust through regulation and secure custody, and deploying products that are transparent and regulated to support their adoption. This commitment is reflected in our mission at Bakkt: Expanding access to the global economy by building trust in and unlocking the value of digital assets.

Our team is excited to deliver on this mission, and the early results are tangible today. With the launch of fully regulated infrastructure for bitcoin now complete, we will continue our work to strengthen and deliver on the potential of this new asset class.