The owner of the biggest stock exchange in the world -- the New Work Stock Exchange -- has high hopes for bitcoin. Bitcoin has unrivaled potential to overcome all boundaries and become the first-ever world currency, and he's trying to make it happen.
Jeffrey Sprecher is the founder, CEO and chairman of the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) which owns the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). He is also starting a new company called Bakkt with the goal to connect the worlds of crypto and mainstream Wall Street.
In an article speaking with Fortune, Sprecher thinks he can bring about bitcoin's greater potential to become the currency of choice throughout the planet. And Bakkt is his way of trying to make it a reality. Speaking about bitcoin being used for global payments, Sprecher says:
"Bitcoin would greatly simplify the movement of global money. It has the potential to become the first worldwide currency."
Many believe the lack of a respected regulated caretaker of the investing landscape as a reason for institutions staying away. Bakkt seeks to address this. Sprecher says his company will act to alleviate these concerns:
"In bringing regulated, connected infrastructure together with institutional and consumer applications for digital assets, we aim to build confidence in the asset class on a global scale, consistent with our track record of bringing transparency and trust to previously unregulated markets."
Kelly Loeffler, CEO of Bakkt details some more of the plan to take bitcoin mainstream:
"Bakkt is designed to serve as a scalable on-ramp for institutional, merchant and consumer participation in digital assets by promoting greater efficiency, security and utility. We are collaborating to build an open platform that helps unlock the transformative potential of digital assets across global markets and commerce."
ICE is already behind the NYSE, and now is position itself to be behind the shift in bringing bitcoin and crypto to the mainstream. It will launch physically-settled bitcoin futures and custody cryptoassets to assist in merchants being able to process bitcoin for everyday payments. It's an ambitious attempt, but could benefit the company greatly if it pans out, as well as the whole crypto sphere.
With a bridge between traditional financial products and crypto, this can attract the conventional investors who are skeptical of bitcoin, as well as younger investors who are skeptical of the traditional financial system.
"Millennials don’t trust traditional financial institutions. To gain their trust, banks, brokerages, and asset managers can use a currency that millennials believe in, like Bitcoin. Using digital currencies brings a lot of sizzle."
It's funny how many people have faith in a guy no one has ever met or knows to actually exist -- Satoshi Nakamoto -- while they highly distrust the US Fed. I think that speaks volumes about how much potential and much more reliable the blockchain crypto technology is, since it doesn't rely on trusting anyone, even a guy who may or may not exist. It's less about trusting a man no one has met, and more about a trusting a trustless ledger technology that surpasses the old-school US Federal Reserve system that's controlled by people we can't trust.
Thank you for your time and attention. Peace.
References:
- The NYSE's Owner Wants to Bring Bitcoin to Your 401(k). Are Crypto Credit Cards Next?
- Bitcoin Could be ‘First Worldwide Currency’: NYSE Owner
- Breaking: World’s Biggest Stock Exchange Operator is Launching a Bitcoin Market
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