Starbucks has clarified that it will not accept Bitcoin (BTC) or other cryptocurrencies as payment, despite misleading reports from the mainstream media, a spokesperson told Motherboard on Friday, July 3.
Previously, on Friday, the operator of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) announced plans to create a new "global ecosystem and platform for digital assets", nicknamed "Bakkt", together with a group of large companies such as Starbucks, BCG and Microsoft.
After the important announcement, several of the main media, including Bloomberg and CNBC, published deceptive headlines, such as CNBC's "New Starbucks partnership with Microsoft," which allows customers to pay Frappuccinos with bitcoin, which directly implies that the Association would mean that customers could buy items in Starbucks by crypto.
A spokesperson for the multinational coffee chain told Motherboard that, in fact, "customers will not be able to pay Frappuccinos with bitcoin," but the company is part of a new venture that creates a platform, Bakkt, to "convert digital assets as Bitcoin in US dollars, which can be used in Starbucks, "he added:
"At the moment, we are announcing the launch of Bitcoin's commercialization and conversion, but we will continue to talk with customers and regulators as space evolves."
The official Starbucks press release on Friday detailed the project, stating that, pending the regulation, it would include Bitcoin's physically delivered futures:
"As an initial component of the Bakkt offer, the futures exchange and the Intercontinental Exchange Clearinghouse, based in the United States, are scheduled to launch a one-day Bitcoin contract with physical storage in November 2018, subject to CFTC review and approval. "
In May, the New York Times reported sources suggesting that ICE was considering launching physically delivered BTC futures contracts, a move confirmed by Friday's news.
In late July, the former Wall Street executive became a crypto entrepreneur who declared that crypto markets "need a trusted custodian - a Japanese bank or HSBC or ICE or Goldman Sachs - to allow institutional investors to feel comfortable."
Source: Cointelegraph - Olivia Capozzalo
