Intercontinental Exchange’s cryptocurrency platform Bakkt has signed the company’s first acquisition agreement. Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler made the announcement on her official medium blog. The cryptocurrency startup will buy certain assets of Chicago-based futures commission merchant — Rosenthal Collins Group (RCG).
Rosenthal Collins Group established nearly 100 years ago has also sold its customer business of the futures brokerage to London-headquartered commodities broker Marex Spectron. RCG has recently expanded its client base to 14,000 accounts while deepening its introducer broker network.
Bakkt’s acquisition of RCG’s asset is the latest push towards positioning itself towards more regulated markets. According to Bakkt CEO, the RCG’s system and expertise would improve the company’s risk management and treasury operations. This acquisition is in line with other US cryptocurrency operators including Coinbase which puts them in a firmer regulatory footing with regulators. It further helps the crypto firm to position themselves up to offer a broader range of crypto-based financial products.
Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler stated in her blog:
“It will enhance our risk management and treasury operations with systems and expertise. Other aspects of the transaction will contribute to our regulatory, AML/KYC and customer service operations as we help enable digital asset acceptance by bringing more choice and control to buyers and sellers,”
Georgia based ICE last month said that the Bakkt would launch the first physically delivered Bitcoin futures in the last week of January. But now it has been delayed for the third time with no specific date of launch. The initial launch was set for November 2018.
Other established exchange like Cboe and CME offers Bitcoin futures but are cash settled, in which the actual cryptocurrency doesn’t change hands.
