Kelly Loeffler, CEO of Bitcoin futures exchange Bakkt, is stepping down from her post to serve Georgia as a US Senator. Loeffler’s year-long term begins in January 2020.
Following her controversial bid to fill the seat vacated by Senator Johnny Isakson, who will retire at the end of the year due to health reasons, Loeffler becomes the second woman in Georgia’s history to hold the position.
The financial executive, who has worked at Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) for 17 years, launched Bakkt earlier this year in a bid to build a regulated Bitcoin marketplace for institutional investors looking for exposure to the digital asset.
Tapped by Governor Brian Kemp to fill the open senate seat, she was not supported by President Donald Trump.
Reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
“Gov. Brian Kemp appointed financial executive Kelly Loeffler to the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, selecting the co-owner of Atlanta’s WNBA franchise over a congressman that President Donald Trump repeatedly urged the Republican to pick. In remarks in Kemp’s ceremonial office, Loeffler presented herself as a lifelong conservative who is ‘pro-Second Amendment, pro-military, pro-wall and pro-Trump’ to counter criticism pitting her as a closet liberal.
‘I make no apologies for my conservative values,’ she said, ‘and will proudly support President Trump’s conservative judges.'”
Thank you @GovKemp for this important opportunity to serve our state and our nation. I am humbled by this honor and am grateful for the confidence you have placed in me. #gapol pic.twitter.com/qzmUNodd5D
— Kelly Loeffler (@kloeffler) December 4, 2019
According to ICE,
“Loeffler will relinquish this post [as Bakkt CEO] before being sworn in as the next United States Senator from Georgia, with Bakkt’s senior management team continuing to work closely with the ICE senior management team, building on the innovations and progress achieved in the past year.”
Loeffler tells CNN that she plans to run in the next primary election to retain her seat beyond January 2021.
