Bakkt is developing a new consumer app for crypto payments. The company says it expects to release the app sometime in the first half of next year with Starbucks on-board as the first launch partner.
After hitting another trading record of 1,179 contracts of its Bitcoin futures on Friday and announcing the upcoming launch of the first regulated Bitcoin options in December, Bakkt is picking up steam. The company says it’s now focusing on the development of the consumer app and its merchant portal to bring crypto to the masses.
According to the announcement,
“We’ll be launching a consumer app to make it easy for consumers to discover and unlock the value of digital assets, as well as ways in which they can transact or track them. Merchants gain access to a broader set of customers with expanded spending power.”
Bakkt currently supports Bitcoin but will broaden its offerings.
“A key feature of the model we’ve designed is to support a superset of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, as seamlessly as investors transact in stocks in a retail brokerage account.”
Bakkt’s broader mission is to build a huge blockchain-based marketplace for cryptocurrencies, serving the vast majority of consumers who are new to the digital asset space as well as merchants who want to participate without increasing risks.
“We started with the concept of a consumer-driven platform that offers the ultimate control over their digital assets, including the flexibility on how to use them. For merchants, we’re focused on delivering more control over costs and innovative customer engagement, both freeing up capital and supporting a direct relationship with their customers.”
Says Adam White, the company’s chief operating officer,
“At Bakkt we’re building products that facilitate not only trading but also the utility of digital assets.”
Bakkt’s chief product officer Mike Blandina will lead the company’s efforts. Blandina has more than 25 years of payments experience spanning product, engineering, strategy and operations at companies such as Google, PayPal and Blackhawk Network.
As Bakkt gears up to become a major player in the retail adoption of crypto payments, Blandina says more innovation is on the way.
“I have strong conviction that by driving more integration and efficiency across digital wallets, transaction processing and payment acceptance, there are meaningful opportunities for merchants and consumers to seamlessly interact using digital assets in ways that have not been previously considered.”
Bakkt is accepting sign-ups for early access to its new consumer app.
