Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange and Bitcoin platform Bakkt, says it plans to disrupt the digital assets industry by bringing BTC and crypto payments to the mainstream.
ICE says it’s set to acquire Bridge2 Solutions, a platform that drives loyalty and engagement between brands and consumers. Bakkt will utilize Bridge2 to accelerate the development of a consumer payments app that converts and processes crypto payments around the world.
So far, Bakkt has focused on building trust and stability in the cryptocurrency trading market by launching its Bitcoin and futures contracts for institutional investors. Now, the company says its partnership with Bridge2 Solutions will allow it to transform the $1.2 trillion digital asset industry as Bridge2 Solutions powers loyalty programs for seven out of the top 10 financial institutions and over 4,500 loyalty, incentive and employee perk programs for businesses across a wide array of industries.
Bakkt plans to wrap loyalty points, cryptocurrencies, gift cards, in-game digital assets and other forms of virtual rewards into one seamless user interface. According to Bakkt chief executive Mike Blandina,
“With the launch of the Bakkt app, we will, for the first time, offer consumers a robust platform to consolidate and use all of their digital assets, from crypto to loyalty points to in-game tokens, in one user-friendly wallet.
Combining Bridge2 Solutions’ embedded relationships with banks and merchants and their innovative Loyalty Pay solution will enable us to launch new products that further drive loyalty and empower consumers to trade, transfer, and spend digital assets in entirely new ways.”
So far, Bakkt has not released an official launch date for its app. A product road map is expected to be released sometime this year.
