The Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has now begun to launch its much-awaited futures platform Bakkt. Furthermore, reports are now suggesting that a full 56 Bitcoin in volume was recorded during the platform’s first operation day.

Bakkt records 58 BTC in volume

To be specific, the first futures contracts – which are the first futures contracts to be physically settled in Bitcoin – first came online at 8 PM Eastern Standard Time. According to a recent report from Cointelegraph, Bakkt saw a volume of 18 Bitcoin during the platform’s first seven hours online.

At the time of writing, the traded volume is instead sitting at 56 Bitcoin. Moreover, the last recorded trade was at a Bitcoin price of $9,905. Interestingly, this comes as Bitcoin recently fell below the $10,000 line and is currently trading at $9,817.

Furthermore, one should note that the launch of Bitcoin futures has historically been linked to a fall in Bitcoin prices. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether the launch of Bakkt is what has now driven Bitcoin below $10,000.

With that said, the initial volume of 18 Bitcoin led some to comment on the seemingly low volume. For example, one trader went on to compare the launch of the futures platform to previously trading patterns on first weeks.

”CME bitcoin futures traded $460 million on its first week. Current volume is around $700 million. The Van Eck fake ETF traded $0 on its first week.”

Will adoption soon accelerate?

In extension, this led some to discuss the reason behind this seemingly low level of adoption. According to Ari Paul, the cryptocurrency investor, Bakkt’s physical delivery could slow initial adoption of the platform. He went on:

”Probably a more gradual scale-up since it’s physical. With CME futures, anyone with the right FCM [Futures Commission Merchant] could immediately trade on launch […] I’d think the incremental demand (beyond CME) would come from people who want to buy or sell physical for delivery, at least at first. Receiving could be instant (use FCM to convert), but I’m kind of thinking depositing physical will be gradual.”

Nevertheless, one will have to wait to gauge the full impact of Bakkt’s launch. Furthermore, the recent market correction below $10,000 could merely be a blip. At the same time, it could also be the beginning of a larger market reversal.

Many Bitcoin commentators have a positive outlook on the launch of Bakkt. As such, the volume on the exchange could rapidly increase when more actors become aware of its launch.