Bah humbug to Bakkt! Wall Street trader dismisses Bitcoin

Wall Street is iffy on Bitcoin at best despite the high profile launch of regulated exchange, Bakkt, by NYSE owner Intercontinental Exchange.

When asked by Yahoo! Finance if Bakkt showed Wall Street was serious about crypto, Alan Valdes, a senior partner at international advisory firm Silverbear Capital and NYSE trader, said: “I don’t know, I think it’s a stretch. I did see that, but Bitcoin is very iffy right now. How do you protect your Bitcoin? If someone hacks into these wallets, it’s like losing cash, you are out.”

“So, I think Bitcoin has a long way to go for the average person to get involved. Maybe in some emerging markets you’ll see it take hold where that currency could be a little stronger, it might work. But I think here for trade, we hit $20,000 with Bitcoin. Will it get there again? Anything is possible. But I’m not so sure.”

All about Bakkt

Bakkt will leverage Microsoft cloud solutions to create an open and regulated, global ecosystem for digital assets. This is expected to include federally regulated markets and warehousing along with merchant and consumer applications. Its first use cases will be for trading and conversion of Bitcoin versus fiat currencies.

“In bringing regulated, connected infrastructure together with institutional and consumer applications for digital assets, we aim to build confidence in the asset class on a global scale, consistent with our track record of bringing transparency and trust to previously unregulated markets,” says Jeffrey C. Sprecher, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange.

Starbucks is the flagship retailer and “will play a pivotal role in developing practical, trusted and regulated applications for consumers to convert their digital assets into US dollars for use at Starbucks,” according to Maria Smith, Vice President, Partnerships and Payments. “As a leader in mobile payments to our more than 15 million Starbucks Rewards members, we are committed to innovation for expanding payment options for our customers.”

Crypto critics have dismissed the use of Bitcoin for payments due to its volatility. But with Starbucks ready to make a move, we could now see it break through as a mainstream currency.

Bakkt is currently in preparation for launch and further details will be announced in the coming weeks.