Unable to provide launch date for physically delivered bitcoin futures, says Bakkt CEO

Bakkt, the digital assets platform developed by Intercontinental Exchange – the operator of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), has announced the members of its board and given an update on its planned physically delivered bitcoin futures.

Tom Noonan has been named as the chairman of Bakkt’s board. Noonan is a cyber expert and has founded a number of cybersecurity companies including Internet Security Systems, which was acquired by IBM; JouleX, which was acquired by Cisco; and Endgame.

Other members joining the board are Jeff Sprecher, the Founder, Chairman and CEO of ICE and Chairman of the NYSE; Akshay Naheta, Managing Partner at Softbank; and Sean Collins, Managing Partner at Goldfinch Partners.

Regarding the launch date of its physically delivered bitcoin futures, which has been postponed in the past, Bakkt said that it has worked closely with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to obtain regulatory approval, but still cannot provide a specific date.

“We’re making solid progress in bringing the first physical delivery price discovery contracts for bitcoin to the U.S., where price formation will occur in federally regulated, transparent markets,” Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler said.

“Our planned Bakkt bitcoin futures contracts will be listed and cleared on CFTC-regulated exchange and clearing infrastructure, ICE Futures US and ICE Clear US, where global market participants already transact.”

In addition, Bakkt said that it will soon announce the details of its digital asset custody platform. Loeffler said:

“Just as digital asset custody is at the core of Bakkt’s infrastructure development, secure custody is at the heart of our physical delivery bitcoin futures contracts. We’ll share more about our custody platform shortly, as we work to set a new standard in digital asset security.”

Earlier this year, Bakkt entered into an agreement to acquire certain assets of Rosenthal Collins Group (RCG), an independent futures commission merchant. It has raised $182.5 million in its first round of funding, drawing support from Boston Consulting Group, Galaxy Digital, Microsoft’s venture arm M12, and others.