Bakkt Sets July Test Date for Bitcoin Futures

Bitcoin futures exchange Bakkt announced Monday that it is moving forward with plans to launch physically-settled bitcoin futures products.

In a blog post, Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler wrote that Bakkt had "Worked closely" with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the regulatory agency in charge of overseeing derivatives products in the country, and would be testing its bitcoin futures contracts this summer.

Rather, Bakkt, through ICE, will self-certify its bitcoin futures products, meaning that the CFTC will have to assess whether or not the proposals violate any laws or regulations.

An individual familiar with Bakkt's process, who did not want to be named, told CoinDesk that the company does not have a final launch date set yet, but would be cleared to proceed should the CFTC not raise any objections.

In the blog post, Loeffler wrote that "We'll be working with our customers over the next several weeks to prepare for user acceptance testing for futures and custody, which we expect to start in July.".

"We expect to use UAT to ensure that customers have time to onboard and can test the trading and custody model we've built to their satisfaction," she wrote, adding that future details will be shared in upcoming posts.

For one thing, the firm will list two different futures contracts: a daily settlement bitcoin future, "Which will enable customers to transact in a same-day market," and a monthly futures contract.

This is different from the one-day futures contract that the platform originally announced.

A daily settlement bitcoin future, "Which will enable customers to transact in a same-day market;".

A monthly futures contract, which is different from the one-day futures contract that the platform originally announced.