Bakkt, the highly anticipated digital asset platform, recently announced that it has shifted its focus back to providing custody services for digital assets. The company now supports six new coins, including Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Stellar Lumens (XLM), and Zcash (ZEC). It already supported Bitcoin (BTC) when it launched earlier this year, so the addition of these new coins brings its support to a total of seven. The company plans to add more coins in the future.
In a blog post, Bakkt CEO and founder Kelly Loeffler explained the decision to focus on digital asset custody: “At Bakkt, we believe that the creation of custody and other infrastructure solutions are essential for the increasing adoption of digital assets by institutional investors. Therefore, we have shifted our focus back to custody in order to provide a secure option for institutions to manage their digital asset portfolios.”
The announcement marks the first significant update to Bakkt since it launched earlier this year. While the company has offered futures and options contracts for Bitcoin, it has not yet been able to capitalize on its promise of delivering institutional-grade custody solutions. With the addition of these new coins, Bakkt is now in a better position to do so, and the market appears to have reacted favorably to the news. The price of Bitcoin has surged by more than 10% since the news was released, with other coins also showing strong gains.
Ultimately, this development should make Bakkt more attractive to investors who are interested in digital asset custody, which should in turn drive more interest in the platform and its services. If the company is able to establish itself as a leader in digital asset custody, it could fuel further adoption of digital assets by institutional investors.
