Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Raising $180+ mil 📈

January 2, 2019

Bakkt Raises $182.5 Million in First Capital Raise

Bakkt took to its medium account to gleefully announce that it has completed its very first capital raise, receiving $182.5 million in funding.

The investors in Bakkt's first round were: Boston Consulting Group, CMT Digital, Eagle Seven, Galaxy Digital, Goldfinch Partners, Alan Howard, Horizons Ventures, Intercontinental Exchange, Microsoft's venture capital arm, M12, Pantera Capital, PayU, the fintech arm of Naspers, and Protocol Ventures.

The blog post also detailed the exchange's mission for the upcoming year:

"At Bakkt, we're focused on the work required, both near- and long-term, to evolve the applications for digital assets. Market quality, regulation, scale, security and utility are critical for establishing a strong foundation where innovation can flourish. Our first step is to establish the trust and infrastructure that builds confidence and grows participation at the institutional and merchant level. This is work that needs to be done, and we are excited to be part of this effort on a global scale as 2019 begins."

Ready for launch

Bakkt is only waiting on CFTC approval before it is able to launch its platform. It recently delayed the launch a second time.

Intercontinental Exchange, the company behind Bakkt (and also the New York Stock Exchange, previously targeted January 24th for the launch of its new cryptocurrency futures exchange. However, the company has not yet received the necessary approvals from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The holiday season along with the government shutdown are not helping to speed up the process either. The good news is this should only be a short delay. CoinDesk reports that a January 30th launch date is plausible.

In the same blog post, Bakkt touched on this issue:

"To that end, our team has been working closely with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for the better part of 2018. At an industry level, regulatory approval for physically delivered and warehoused bitcoin will establish and amplify the voice of U.S. authorities as the digital asset market evolves globally. We have filed our applications and the timing for approval is now based on the regulatory review process."

Hyped for physical futures

There are already two Bitcoin futures markets established, the CBOE and the CME, but the launch of the Bakkt market has cryptocurrency investors salivating.

Unlike the CBOE and CME, Bakkt futures will be settled in actual Bitcoin rather than just a cash equivalent.

REPORT

A Wave of Frozen Accounts on HitBTC Exchange

Withdrawal warnings

As the new year turned, an exchange found itself in the spotlight after it allegedly disabled account withdrawals - leaving traders empty-handed.

One Reddit user, known as pedxs, had his account locked for months despite passing the required know your customer process.

Following the move by pedxs, Reddit user lookatmyiq also chimed in on the complaints and posted:

"Submitted all my documents/evidence for KYC days ago and now support are going cold on me. Have I been scammed?"

Calling foul play

While HitBTC has yet to comment on the matter, others in the space are calling foul play.

Trace Mayer, the mind behind an event called Proof of Keys that wants to educate holders about storing crypto off of exchanges, took to Twitter to voice his concerns:

"Has @hitbtc failed #ProofOfKeys? I do not have an account. Asked a friend to initiate a withdrawal. BEWARE! Result: "Withdrawals are temporarily disabled on your account."

Crypto influencer John McAfee also hit the timeline to warn users saying:

"I warned everyonw more than a dozen times. Don't sign up. Don't use it. Withdtaw your funds. I was trashed for calling out HitBT as a corrupt cimpany. Tough shit. You had six months warning from me to withdraw your funds. Do not ask me to help you now."

At the moment, it is unclear how many accounts on the platform have been frozen. For now, users will have to file complaints with support until their once-owned crypto can be withdrawn to its rightful owners.

OPINION

Is 2019 the Year Blockchain Becomes Normal? MIT Thinks So

It's going to be boring

Published January 2nd on MIT Technology Review, a new article is claiming that 2019 will be the year that blockchain becomes boring.

The piece opens:

"In 2017, blockchain technology was a revolution that was supposed to disrupt the global financial system. In 2018, it was a disappointment. In 2019, it will start to become mundane."

Basically, blockchain technology is going to unfold its potential in mainstream business and government - effectively making it normal.

What's leading the charge?

According to author Mike Orcutt, three things will make blockchain mundane:

Big business adoption
Smart contract use cases
State-backed digital currencies

And it's already happening for the most part. Mega-retailer Walmart is already set to launch its blockchain supply chain system by next year, smart contract use cases have found their way to legal agreements, and "at least 15 countries" are taking a look at creating their own digital currency.

In Orcutt's words, "blockchain technology won't make as much noise in 2019. But it will become more useful."

BITS

But wait, there's more...

🇿🇦 The South African government has established a crypto asset regulatory group to oversee the industry.
🚀 The Fortnite merch store is letting users pay with crypto, but only Monero.
📝 Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht wrote to Roger Ver to get help for a presidential pardon.

MEME