At press time, bitcoin – the granddaddy of all crypto – is trading for roughly $400 more than where it stood 24 hours ago. The currency appears to be recovering amidst the news that Bakkt – a cryptocurrency trading platform being launched by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) – is set for release this coming September. That means that in less than a month, the system that everyone’s been talking about for roughly one year will be here.
Bakkt Is Pushing Bitcoin Up
Bakkt is a platform designed to offer cryptocurrencies a higher level of legitimacy. Much like Flexa is doing, Bakkt is working towards recruiting retail players so that customers can potentially pay with digital currencies for goods and services. It was originally reported – when Bakkt first made headlines in late 2018 – that companies like Starbucks were going to allow the purchase of baked goods and drinks with digital currencies, but that ultimately turned out to be false.
Still, Bakkt is working with various retail merchants to allow for the utilization of crypto as a means of payment, which has been the primary goal of entities like bitcoin, Ethereum, EOS and Litecoin since the days of their conceptions. Virtual money, which is highly speculative in nature, was originally built so that users who did not have access to standard credit or banking products, could utilize it to get their hands on the daily items they needed to provide for themselves or their families.
Unfortunately, crypto is quite volatile, which means it can go up and down in price at a moment’s notice. If you use digital currency to pay for $50-worth of merchandise, but tomorrow the crypto you use goes down in value, you’ll still walk away with everything you bought. The receiving company, however, will see what they garnered in the transaction shrink, which isn’t entirely fair.
Can This Good Fortune Last?
Bitcoin, for the most part, has experienced a very wobbly two weeks. While the currency originally started this period at a whopping $11,700 (many were convinced $12,000 was right around the corner), the currency ultimately fell into the $11,300 region and hovered there for several days. It later fell to $10,900, then $10,500, and finally $10,050. It later began rising and falling between $10,100 and $10,300. While its price is now higher thanks, in part, to the news surrounding Bakkt, it’s still roughly $1,000 below where it began the mentioned two-week timeframe.
Thus, while bitcoin is solid when compared to where it stood yesterday and in the few days before then, it still has plenty of room for improvement. $11,000 probably isn’t out of the question following the release of Bakkt, though what’s unclear is if such a gain would last as according to various technical charts, the currency is likely slated to for further bearish activity.
