Bakkt’s Consumer App Ready in 2020, With Starbucks as Launch Partner
By Bitvalex on The Capital
During a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Adam White, President of Bakkt, revealed that the crypto platform would unveil a new payments app in 2020, The Block reports.
The recent development comes after Mike Blandina, the then Chief Product Officer, shared in a blog post in October 2019 that the company was developing a consumer app that uses crypto assets. He wrote:
“ 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.”
At the panel discussion, White affirmed that the new consumer app would regard digital assets as a form of digital value. He hinted that the app would have extensive applicability in the digital realm, including loyalty points and promotions. Moreover, the consumer app will facilitate equity trading and offer retailers a portal for transacting.
The Bakkt app will offer an extensive range of assets, unlike Flexa, which only supports crypto-focused payments. The app will rival more established fintech players such as PayPal. However, speaking at the forum, White remarked that a “ killer app” hasn’t hit the market yet.
“ I do not think we are there yet,” he said.
“ What gives me optimism is that we are seeing a lot of developer interest. I am confident that someone is going to find something,” White added.
Historically, Bakkt has been leading in developing crypto products targeting institutional clients. Specifically, it is widely known for Bitcoin (BTC) futures contracts and options, with Tagomi and Galaxy Digital being its main clients.
Partnership with Starbucks
In August 2018, Bakkt’s parent company, Intercontinental Exchange, in a press release, announced that it was partnering with Starbucks, among others, to create an integrated platform. Since then, details have been scanty. In his blog post last October, Blandina mentioned the flagship retailer as the company’s “ first launch partner” for the consumer app.
Possibly, the partnership will give Bakkt a head start as it will enable its users to pay with Bitcoin using the Bakkt wallet. Moreover, to augment its push for the consumer offering, the company recently promoted Blandina to the position of CEO.
Blandina has been very vocal on Bakkt’s focus on developing a consumer app and a merchant portal. He wrote on Medium:
“ Our vision is to provide a consumer platform for managing a digital asset portfolio, whether they wish to store, transact, trade, or transfer their assets.”
Expressing his optimism in the app, he added:
“ There are meaningful opportunities for merchants and consumers to seamlessly interact using digital assets in ways that have not been previously considered.”
Rapid Expansion
In December 2019, Bakkt launched two Bitcoin derivative products: Bakkt Bitcoin (USD) Monthly Options and the Bakkt Bitcoin (USD) Cash Settled Futures in the US and Asia, respectively. The two products expanded the existing product range, consisting of the Bitcoin (USD) Daily Futures and the Bitcoin (USD) Monthly Futures.
Although Bakkt is well known for its Bitcoin futures and options contracts, it has also immersed itself into the institutional custody services. In November 2019, the company opened its doors to clients who want to “ safeguard their assets using Bakkt’s enterprise-grade offering.”
The recent announcement on the development of a consumer app in 2020 will be a great boon to Bakkt and will place it among pioneers in partnering with retailers.
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Originally published at https://bitvalex.com.
