Late last week, news went around that international coffee maker was going to get involved in Bitcoin and cryptos in general. Many saw this development as a welcome one, especially as it provided relief to the crypto community. But the coffee company has come out to clarify the rumors.

Cryptocurrency Foray Doesn’t Mean Bitcoin for Latte

American coffee company, Starbucks, has come out to debunk rumors that it was accepting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as payment. Earlier in the week, the company announced Bakkt, a new global platform that will enable the spending of digital assets. This is a joint venture involving Intercontinental Exchange, BCG, and Microsoft, amongst others. According to Starbucks’ payments VP:

The company would play a pivotal role in developing practical, trusted and regulated applications for consumers to convert their digital assets into US dollars for use at Starbucks.

The announcement excited several new outlets who rolled out different headlines with the notion that Starbucks customers would soon pay for their coffees and lattes with Bitcoin. On Saturday, the company decided to set the records straight. To clarify the notion and correct the impression already created, a spokesperson for Starbucks said:

It is important to clarify that we are not accepting digital assets at Starbucks. Rather the exchange will convert digital assets like Bitcoin into US dollars, which can be used at Starbucks. Customers will not be able to pay for Frappuccinos with bitcoin.

The announcement made by Starbucks indicates a significant interest in the promising crypto industry, and retail payments will be considered. When it comes to the frequent use of its mobile app, it is beating out big names like Apple Pay and Google Pay. According to an article on Fortune:

The founding imperative for Bakkt will be to make Bitcoin a sound and secure offering for key constituents that now mostly shun it—the world’s big financial institutions. The goal is to clear the way for major money managers to offer Bitcoin mutual funds, pension funds, and ETFs, as highly regulated, mainstream investments.

Starbucks Getting Involved in Crypto

On Friday, Intercontinental Exchange (owners of the NYSE), Microsoft, BCG, and Starbucks, announced that the launch of Bakkt. The announcement came as a relief for the crypto community. The new company will push Bitcoin and other cryptos towards becoming the mainstream financial asset. The news was timely, as it came at a time when crypto markets lacked the drive to get out of the crypto bear trend.

Crypto enthusiasts believe that with Bakkt, there is hope that the CBOE sponsored Bitcoin ETF pending at the SEC might just get the go-ahead it seeks. Bakkt getting fully operational by November 2018 will give validity to Bitcoin ETF. Brian Kelly of CNBC, further explains the situation. He said: