Intercontinental Exchange-backed Bitcoin futures exchange, Bakkt, said it will start testing its futures contracts by the 22nd of July.
Bakkt said in a statement that:
On July 22, two days after Apollo 11’s 50th anniversary, Bakkt will initiate user acceptance testing for its bitcoin futures listed and traded at ICE Futures U.S. and cleared at ICE Clear US.
This is no small step. This launch will usher in a new standard for accessing crypto markets. Compared to other markets, institutional participation in crypto remains constrained due to limitations like market infrastructure and regulatory certainty. This results in lower trading volumes, liquidity, and price transparency than more established markets like ICE’s Brent Crude futures contract, which has earned global trust in setting the world’s price of crude oil.
Recently, Bakkt announced that we’ll support the ICE Futures U.S. launch of daily and monthly margined futures for bitcoin by bringing regulated custody as part of the futures contract.
That’s our mission — to support the development of trusted infrastructure for securely transacting in the new market for digital assets. In advance of the start of Bakkt’s testing regimen, we wanted to share what we see as some of the benefits we’re bringing to help grow this market. Just as engineers in the 1960’s identified problems in planning a spacecraft’s lunar trajectory, we are working to meet today’s identifiable market risks with problem-solving solutions: