In a reminder that has fallen into the lap of the crypto community, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) more-or-less confirmed that the launch of the Bakkt Bitcoin Futures Contract will take place as scheduled on Jan 24, 2019.

The reminder had been sent through the API of ICE to what we can assume to be the prospective customers. Milestones in the notes indicate that the product will be in testing phase starting Dec 17.

The futures contract will be listed on the Bakkt digital asset exchange, which was announced earlier this year.

The launch of Bakkt has garnered a lot of attention from the crypto community, hailing this event as the key factor in breaking out of the year-long bear market of 2018. These high expectations are linked to the reputation of Intercontinental Exchange as the operator of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Moreover, the Bitcoin Futures Contract that will start trading on Jan 24 will be available to institutional investors.

The Bakkt Bitcoin Futures Contract is a physically-backed contract and every contract will have a size of one bitcoin.

The digital asset platform was initially scheduled for a Dec 12 launch; however, the team decided to postpone it for testing purposes. Today’s ‘leaked’ reminder notes confirm Bakkt’s reasoning behind the delay.

There is still a “minor” issue to take into consideration — the product is still pending regulatory approval. However, considering ICE’s reputation and experience in negotiations with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the product is largely expected to receive clearance by the launch date.

Confirmation of an on-time launch for Bakkt is encouraging news for the crypto community, as another setback might have sent the markets to lower levels. Still, Bakkt can’t single-handedly pull the cryptocurrency market into the next rally — but could prove to be the spark it needs.

What do you think? Is the arrival of Bakkt Bitcoin futures the impulse the market needs? Let us know in the comments!