Bakkt launched! What is the influence on the bitcoin rate?

After months of doubt and delay, the moment is there: Bakkt is live. Bakkt is a platform on which investors can trade in bitcoin futures.

Bitcoin futures, but different

With bitcoin futures, traders can speculate on the bitcoin rate. For example, they can bet on a price rise (a long position) or a price fall (a short position).

Bitcoin futures are not new themselves, they have been offered by CME Group since the end of 2017. But at Bakkt, the futures contracts are handled in bitcoins instead of dollars. Traders deposit bitcoin and are also paid in bitcoin. Investors therefore expect Bakkt to influence the bitcoin rate.

Bakkt’s bitcoin futures are also unique in the short term. The futures expire after one working day. Bitcoins are delivered to the customer on the second working day afterwards.

Bakkt also offers a monthly contract, but investors are particularly curious about the daily variant. This brings institutional parties closer to buying or selling bitcoin, which is comparable to a normal cryptocurrency exchange.

Lanre Sarumi, CEO of crypto derivatives platform LevelTradingField is therefore enthusiastic:

“The daily contracts look like the foreign exchange market, but with the option of shorting. That is huge. “

Went live last night, what is the influence on the course?

Bakkt went live at two o’clock last night. The first trading day closes at noon tonight (both Dutch time). Many traders eagerly await the influence of Bakkt on the price.

So far, little has happened with the bitcoin rate. The price has fallen somewhat, but for bitcoin concepts the price is moving in a small margin. Compared with 24 hours ago, the rate has fallen by 0.2 percent.

No data is yet available for the daily futures contracts. If we look at the monthly futures contracts, then Bakkt has currently traded 18 bitcoin. That seems little, but that may also have to do with the time of the launch of Bakkt. In American time, Bakkt started eight hours on Sunday evening, perhaps few institutional parties were active at the time.

But there may also be other reasons for the low volume. According to cryptocurrency investor Ari Paul, the physical handling in bitcoin is responsible for the slow adoption: “The interest is probably building [naar Bakkt] slowly, because traders conclude the contracts in bitcoin. With the CME futures, anyone with the right registration could act immediately. “

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