Bakkt hired a former Google consultant to help broaden its brand and assist with the roll-out of a new app. Bakkt Pay could be released in the next couple of months and will presumably enable instantly converting from cryptocurrencies to fiat.
Bakkt decided to add a former Google consultant to its team as they are getting closer to releasing a product. Chris Peterson, formerly a UX consultant for Google, joined cryptocurrency venture Bakkt earlier this month as the firm works on rolling-out a mobile application for a digital asset wallet, dubbed Bakkt Pay.
Peterson is not the first Google’s employee to join the crypto-related startup. Former executive at PayPal and Google, Mike Blandina recently started working with Bakkt as Chief Product Officer. Bakkt, a subsidiary of Intercontinental Exchange, is still reportedly working on its ambitious crypto platform & mobile application for possible release in the next couple of months. The company also announced they will accept a limited number of users for testing its bitcoin futures listed and traded at ICE Futures U.S. and cleared at ICE Clear U.S.
Bakkt explained they would also launch a platform that is going to enable the trading of Bitcoin and the investment of this Bitcoin in regular 401(k)s.
Not many details were given about this presumed mobile application, but the fact is that Bakkt’s recently-updated website mentions digital payments.
An excerpt from Bakkt.com says:
“Whether between consumers and merchants or peers, the ability to conduct transactions in digital assets holds promise as a these new global currencies evolve beyond a store of value or speculative assets, and as distributed ledger technology scales. Bakkt is working with leading merchants who recognize the potential of digital assets.”
The launch of the platform promised by Bakkt is still in the process of working. Company yet has to give a concrete date regarding when the product will be launched officially. There is still a number of regulatory problems that have to be negotiated due to the nature of cryptocurrency and how it is different from regular money. It is the difficulty in navigating these regulations that have delayed the launch of the platform promised by Bakkt.
Bakkt Pay will presumably enable instantly converting from cryptocurrencies to fiat.
If this turns out to be true, Starbucks will also join a list of corporate giants, both in Silicon Valley and abroad, that now accept Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. This list includes AT&T, Nordstrom, Whole Foods, Gamestop, and Microsoft.
It is presumed that Bakkt will begin a “user acceptance testing” phase of its project on July 22nd — two days after Apollo 11th’s 50th anniversary.
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