Bitcoin and Crypto Are Here to Stay, Says New York Stock Exchange Chairman As Bakkt Launch Approaches
New York Stock Exchange chairman and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is enthusiastic about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, despite the bear market.
At the Consensus Invest conference in New York, Jeffrey Sprecher responded to headlines like “Will digital assets survive?” As reported by Barrons, Sprecher said,
“I’d say the unequivocal answer is yes. We’re kind of agnostic to price.”
Cryptocurrency has become somewhat of a family business for Sprecher. He was joined on stage with his wife Kelly Loeffler, CEO of crypto-platform Bakkt.
Bakkt, backed by ICE, has been active in the crypto space as they aim to increase crypto adoption and merchant transactions. ICE plans to launch Bakkt on January 24, 2019, pending regulatory approval and after delaying its initial December launch date. Bakkt will offer physically-settled Bitcoin futures as well as allow investors to buy, sell, store and spend digital assets.
The company is also partnering with Microsoft and Starbucks to bring crypto-to-fiat conversions to the mainstream.
According to Loeffler, the price of BTC really isn’t a factor right now for Bakkt’s launch, adding, “The price is being expressed but there’s a lot of missing infrastructure and use cases.”
Sprecher also explained why Bakkt is mostly focusing on Bitcoin.
“Oftentimes in finance, it’s not about being the best. It turns out about being the broadest and the most commonly accepted. And for whatever reason, Bitcoin has sort of become that.”
Loeffler says Bakkt’s delay will “give more people time to get on board.”
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