Bakkt completes $300m Series B fundraising round

Cryptocurrency derivatives platform, Bakkt, has raised $300 million in its Series B fundraising round, with an official announcement confirming the likes of Microsoft and Pantera Capital as investors.

Other investors include Bakkt’s parent company, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), as well as PayU, Boston Consulting Group, Goldfinch Partners and CMT Digital.

Bakkt went live to the public during the tail end of 2019 with offerings of physically settled Bitcoin futures markets as well as custody services.

It now has plans to expand its offering to retail users by launching the Bakkt app, which will allow users to store cryptocurrency, fiat currencies and loyalty points from stores and airlines.

Bakkt CEO, Mike Blandina, revealed that he was “excited” about the potential of unlocking “nearly $1 trillion of digital assets” in the summer when the platform’s app goes live.

He added: “We now a team of 350 employees and powers the loyalty redemption programs for 7 of the top 10 financial institutions and over 4,500 loyalty and incentive programs including two of the largest US airlines.

“We have the unique opportunity to leverage the technology, infrastructure and partners across our businesses to bring innovative new products to market and in doing so expand access to the global economy.”

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