Bitcoin is down by greater than 60% from its all-time excessive, however Bakkt’s CEO says the main cryptocurrency isn’t going away.
Gavin Michael, the CEO of ICE-owned Bakkt, told Yahoo Finance in an interview on Friday that Bitcoin isn’t going away. He made this assertion at a time when Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market are underperforming.
Michael mentioned institutional curiosity in cryptocurrencies is rising regardless of the continued bear market. He mentioned;
“There’s nonetheless sturdy curiosity and momentum with our companions, a lot of whom are multinational firms… They perceive the peaks and troughs that we’re seeing. [But] we’re anticipating that the companions might transfer at a barely extra conservative tempo. They’re being extra considerate about how they enter the crypto financial system.”
The crypto market has seen its complete market cap drop from $2.2 trillion in the beginning of the yr to at the moment stand round $1 trillion. Regardless of that, Michael mentioned he expects Bakkt to stay engaged with its crypto companies within the second half of the yr, and expects a large ramp-up via 2023. He mentioned;
“We’re seeing this alteration in narrative, when you like, from crypto being considered merely as an investable asset to a extra widespread utility throughout customers, throughout companies, and throughout establishments. So our work is about working with our companions to essentially unleash [crypto’s] performance and its full utility.”
The bear market is a time to develop, and Bakkt has been doing simply that. The corporate, which operates a crypto buying and selling platform for institutional traders, announced a new partnership with Visa earlier this month and has an current partnership with Mastercard.
The partnership with Visa will see Bakkt supply crypto debit and bank cards, making it simpler for customers to pay utilizing cryptocurrencies.
Bakkt’s partnership with Mastercard empowers firms to supply crypto as a part of their loyalty reward packages. Michael mentioned;
“We’re seeing customers who worth their loyalty factors much more on this difficult financial surroundings. They see it as a approach to offset rising prices.”
Bakkt’s income elevated by 60% within the second half of the yr, due to the gross sales progress from customers redeeming loyalty factors for crypto.