Speaking at the recent World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Bakkt president Adam White shared plans for a consumer-facing app which will support the purchasing of virtual goods.
Bakkt currently offers physically settled Bitcoin futures contracts as a crypto spin-off of the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) – the company behind the New York Stock Exchange.
Now it seems the company is moving past its institutional offerings and looking to launch a consumer-focused app and merchant portal.
White shared that contrary to Bakkt’s original plans on launching an app solely for Bitcoin payments and trading, the new offering will now be targeting a range of digital assets, including virtual goods, equities, and any other form of digital value.
Explaining that crypto’s “killer app” hasn’t been created yet, White said he was confident that “someone is going to find something”.
White discussed an app which would more closely resemble a PayPal for digital assets and cryptocurrencies, rather than simply releasing another Coinbase or Flexa-type app.
Bakkt shakes up its business proposition
Bakkt has recently appointed a new CEO after Kelly Loeffler, the previous head of Bakkt and spouse of ICE chairman Jeffrey Sprecher, left to pursue a career in politics – recently being appointed as a US senator for Georgia.
Mike Blandina, former chief product officer, became Bakkt’s new CEO at the end of 2019, announcing a new roadmap for 2020 which included the consumer payments app as part of the company’s expansion plans.
In August 2018, Coin Rivet reported that Starbucks, Microsoft, and BCG were going to be working with Bakkt to bring simple Bitcoin payments to retailers and customers. However, it seems these plans have been put on the back burner.
A downturn in the crypto markets and a slow start for Bakkt’s Bitcoin options led some to speculate that the consumer-focused products the company had planned would be shelved.
It now seems that the group will be pursuing retail consumer-based products throughout 2020 in a bid to increase adoption and increase crypto’s utility.
You can read more about Bakkt here.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.