Crypto traders are closely watching the launch of the Bitcoin futures platform Bakkt.
Less than a day after opening its futures contracts, Bakkt says 63 BTC have been entered into monthly contracts on the platform, worth more than $600,000 at time of publishing.
Three Arrows Capital CEO Su Zhu says regulated futures contracts often get off to a slow start.
He expects Bakkt to steadily and exponentially increase in volume over time.
“Bakkt will be likely first a trickle and then a flood.
The reality is that most regulated futures contracts get low adoption on day one simply because not all futures brokers are ready to clear it, many people want to wait and see, the tickers are not even populated on risk systems, etc.”
Bakkt itself has cautioned that it will likely take weeks, if not months to see how eager interested institutional investors are in betting on BTC.
Bakkt’s futures are the first to be physically settled in Bitcoin, which means investors will receive actual Bitcoin when the contracts expire.
This sets Bakkt’s futures apart from alternatives like CME, which are settled in cash.
Because of settlements in actual Bitcoin, the platform could play a role in creating demand for the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, potentially placing upwards pressure on the price in the long run.
Bakkt’s launch comes after a series of delays and months of questions on whether it would be able to pass regulatory muster.
The final breakthrough came last month, when the New York Department of Financial Services gave the go-ahead for Bakkt to launch its crypto custody warehouse.
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