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Derivatives and equity trading firm Intercontinental Exchange has announced the acquisition of SaaS platform technology company Bridge2 Solutions in a press release. The terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.
Bridge2 Solutions drives engagement and loyalty between brands and their customers. Its Loyalty Pay solution expands the value of rewards programs and gives consumers the ability to pay with reward currencies both at the point of sale (POS) in retail stores and in-app through digital wallets.
Bitcoin futures exchange Bakkt, which is majority-owned by ICE, plans to acquire Bridge2 Solutions from ICE using the funds raised in its Series B round of funding, which will close later this quarter. According to the release, Bridge2 Solutions will help accelerate the development of Bakkt consumer application which will provide digital asset aggregation, conversion and payments through a single platform.
It can be recalled that Bakkt announced its plans to launch a crypto consumer app in the first half of 2020. Starbucks was named as the first launch partner for the app.
"Bakkt was created to help bring transparency and trust to the previously unregulated digital asset markets,” said Jeffrey Sprecher, Founder, Chairman and CEO of ICE. “With the launch of the Bakkt Warehouse and Bakkt futures and options markets, the company has achieved quick success with its custody and trading offering. Bakkt’s second round of funding, and its acquisition of Bridge2 Solutions, will help accelerate the development of Bakkt’s consumer application, which has been a key part of our strategy since we first looked at this market.”
Mike Blandina, CEO of Bakkt said that integrating Bridge2 Solutions’ embedded relationships with banks and merchants and their Loyalty Pay solution will enable them to launch new products that further drive loyalty and empower consumers to trade, transfer and spend digital assets in entirely new ways.
“With the launch of the Bakkt app, we will, for the first time, offer consumers a robust platform to consolidate and use all of their digital assets, from crypto to loyalty points to in-game tokens, in one user-friendly wallet,” said Blandina,
