Bakkt is easily one of the most interesting platforms in the crypto market. Operated by the Atlanta-based Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the platform is designed to push Bitcoin much deeper into mainstream adoption, by offering physically settled Bitcoin futures contracts. Bakkt initially had a very disappointing start, making many believe it wouldn’t amount to much. However, the platform has surprised many, including the naysayers, and has seen impressive and steady growth, as it continually sets new records.
According to Bakkt Volume Bot (@BakktBot), a Twitter account operating independently but dedicated to providing real-time information and summaries about the platform’s trading activity, Bakkt has hit a new monthly total volume record of $124.0 million in Bitcoin. The figure shows considerable growth, especially because the new record is an impressive 89% spike over the previous record. The same tweet from Bakkt Bot also shows that the platform’s max open interest hit $4.3 million, a more impressive 218% increase from its last record.
This week’s summary of Bakkt Bitcoin Monthly Futures:
💪 Total volume: $124.0 million (+89%)
💰 Max open interest: $4.3 million (+218%)@Bottlepay this bot a coffee: https://t.co/MJaZ58oPiu 🤖 pic.twitter.com/zj9Z8cosgM— Bakkt Volume Bot (@BakktBot) December 1, 2019
In the same manner of setting new records, Bakkt Bot posted on November 28 that on the 27th, the platform hit a new daily all-time high, trading 5671 contracts worth $42.52 million, a new record which was 148% higher than the previous.
Bakkt Outlook Has Changed
On Sep 23, the Bakkt platform officially launched with a lot of excitement because expectations had built up significantly. However, on the first day, Bakkt only traded 12 BTC disappointing the entire Bitcoin market, many of whom expected that the launch would only bring good tidings for Bitcoin and might even be the catalyst that will push Bitcoin up to its current all-time high of $20,000 or even past it. Besides, it was generally thought that many institutions who were skeptical about making a significant play into the Bitcoin market because of its largely unregulated nature, would be a bit more confident about pumping in money to a regulated platform like Bakkt. However, nothing seemed to work in the beginning and the price of Bitcoin even crashed significantly shortly after the launch.
For a long time, opinions were polarized. While some believed that it was a little too early to write the platform off – citing the fact that most other Bitcoin contracts platforms had terrible starts as well – others believed that the poor start was a little too bad, and things might not get better. Current records now show that naysayers have been proven wrong.
While Bakkt is still breaking new records, it generally still has a very long way to go. Other platforms that offer Bitcoin contracts are pulling in much higher volumes than Bakkt. It could be said that Bakkt isn’t much competition because it’s still less than three months old, it would be celebrated if Bakkt somehow found a way to surpass other older platforms.
Bakkt has also announced that it is working on a Bakkt Pay app that will let users make purchases from several merchants, using Bitcoin and other assets.
Tolu is a cryptocurrency and blockchain enthusiast based in Lagos. He likes to demystify crypto stories to the bare basics so that anyone anywhere can understand without too much background knowledge.
When he’s not neck-deep in crypto stories, Tolu enjoys music, loves to sing and is an avid movie lover.
