Over the past few years, a wide range of new Bitcoin-related investment products have been brought to the crypto market, and the company at the forefront of this has been Bakkt. In a new development that could also have far-reaching implications for the crypto space, the company has now gone launched its Bitcoin options and futures contracts that are settled in cash. The products have already gone live, and it will be interesting to see the sort of interest they generate.
Highly Innovative
This is a significant development for all concerned since around three months ago, Bakkt had launched the highly innovative physically settled Bitcoin futures contracts. However, the company announced that the fresh product launches are the testing grounds for other products that it is going to introduce soon. In a blog post that it had published in relation to the launch, the company stated that the physically settled contracts could eventually work as the benchmark for the other products that it has planned.
However, the company’s ambitions with regard to its status in the crypto space are unlimited. It revealed that the Intercontinental Exchange wants its products to be on the same level of influence as the International Brent Crude futures—in other words, financial products that have the capability of moving markets.
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There must be a lot of quiet optimism among Bitcoin fans with regards to this development. In the aforementioned blog post, the company stated, “By starting with the physically delivered Bakkt Bitcoin (USD) Monthly Futures, we have a benchmark contract which provides the foundation for us to develop complementary products based on the needs of our customers.”
At the end of the day, the influence of the exchange will ultimately depend on the number of customers it can attract and the sort of liquidity that it offers to traders.
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