New details have been announced about Starbucks partnership with the US cryptocurrency platform – Bakkt which suggest that the coffee conglomerate will indeed start accepting Bitcoin (BTC) as payment after an equity deal.

Starbucks, which became a founding partner with Bakkt after it was revealed to the world in August 2018, will support the crypto platform’s software to allow customers the luxury of making purchases with Bitcoin.

However, it was reported that no actual cryptocurrency will be processed by Starbucks as the digital asset will instantly be converted to fiat currency.

Despite being in the final of pre-release stages, Bakkt’s goal is to become a key player for investors seeking to gain exposure to digital assets. Also in Bakkt’s plans for 2019 are the issuance of Bitcoin futures contracts which will be delivered physically, with a scheduled rollout pegged for late 2019 depending on approval from regulatory bodies.

Coffee For BTC?

Initially, Starbucks denied the notions that their involvement with Bakkt would result “in coffee for Bitcoin”. In light of the recent developments, it would seem that the coffee chain has acquired notable equity in Bakkt and thus will begin accepting crypto payments indirectly.

“There’s high value from having a brand at this level,” said an unnamed expert with regards to the partnership of Bakkt and Starbucks. It must also be noted that currently, only US citizens will have access to the Starbucks – Bakkt USD services for now.

Bakkt has faced its fair share of delays for its official launch as executives at the firm await to be fully compliant with the regulator. Thus Starbucks will patiently wait to activate its crypto-fiat coffee purchase abilities until the time when Bakkt launches and shows promise and capacity for the holding and storage of digital assets.

The unnamed expert stated:

“In many ways, there are limits to what Starbucks can do with partnerships because there are limits to what customers can expect,”

Could Bakkt’s partnership with Starbucks, once initiated truly open up Bitcoin to the general public as a trustworthy mainstream asset? We’ll have to wait and see.