Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE) Bakkt platform has traded 71 Bitcoin (BTC) futures contracts in the first 24 hours following its launch on Sept. 22.
According to ICE historical data on Bakkt’s Bitcoin/USD futures contract trading, the platform has traded 71 BTC at press time, with the last recorded trading price settling at $9,875 per Bitcoin.
Bakkt Bitcoin (USD) monthly futures contract. Source: ICE
In an analysis for Cointelegraph earlier today, Rakesh Upadhyay wrote that the lukewarm reception to the Bakkt launch is likely due to the fact that the currency’s price has been range-bound recently, so institutional traders are in no hurry to initiate positions.
Initial margin limits for Bakkt’s futures trading
A few days prior to the platform’s launch, ICE determined tentative margin requirements for the contracts. The initial hedge requirement for daily and monthly futures contracts is $3,900, while the speculative initial requirement for both contracts is $4,290.
The inter-month add-ons for the monthly and daily futures contracts are between $400 and $1,000 for the hedge rate and between $440 and $1,100 for the speculative rate.
Impetus behind Bakkt’s launch
The newly-launched platform — which is the first of its kind to receive approval from United States regulators — was initially announced a year ago. By establishing Bakkt, ICE intended to create an integrated platform that enables consumers, merchants and institutional clients to buy, sell, store and spend digital assets on a “seamless global network.”
Following Bakkt’s launch, Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler said the institution provides “reliable and regulated infrastructure” while pushing for the “adoption of new digital currency-powered technology and financial instruments.”
Industry players’ reaction to Bakkt’s launch
In anticipation of Bakkt’s launch, Fundstrat Global Advisors’ Thomas Lee argued that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies will gain a better reputation from Bakkt, thus joining the increasing number of Bitcoin figures bullish about Bakkt’s impact on the space. Lee wrote, “I am very positive on Bakkt and its ability to improve trust with institutions to crypto.”
American investor and Morgan Creek Digital Assets co-founder Anthony Pompliano said that Bitcoin will end up in every institutional investor’s portfolio:
"The more infrastructure that's built around this, the more likely it is to never go away [...] we're at a tipping point now where Bitcoin is here to stay. It’s going to end up being in every institutional investor’s portfolio.”