Launch of Bakkt Bitcoin Futures Market May Get Postponed Again

Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, is likely to delay the launch of Bakkt, its bitcoin futures trading and custody platform, a second time, CoinDesk has learned.

The company last set Jan. 24 as the launch date.

ICE has yet to receive the necessary approvals from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and at the pace the agency has been moving, it is unlikely that approvals will be secured in time to hit that target.

A person familiar with the agency's inner workings said even a Jan. 30 launch was still plausible, meaning the delay could be just a matter of days.

Specifically, the CFTC must grant an exemption for Bakkt's plan to custody bitcoin on behalf of its clients in its own "Warehouse," according to sources familiar with regulatory discussions of the plan.

CFTC regulations normally require that customer funds be held by a bank, trust company or futures commission merchant.

The exchange is likely to issue an updated launch target date, but not until next week, another source said.

ICE had originally aimed to launch Bakkt in December, but last month it said that the "Volume of interest" in the company and the "Work required to get all the pieces in place" necessitated a delay.

Unlike the bitcoin futures offered by CME Group and Cboe, Bakkt's will be physically settled, meaning actual bitcoin will change hands rather than cash when the contracts expire.

From left: Michael J. Casey, the chairman of CoinDesk's advisory board, interviews Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler and ICE chief Jeffrey Sprecher at Consensus: Invest 2018.