ICE’s Bakkt Platform Announces the Acquisition of a New Crypto Custodian
Despite several delays in its launch owing to regulatory hurdles, ICE’s Bakkt platform continues to make further progress. Recently, Bakkt announced new developments for the platform. In a bid to push ahead its regulatory approval, the crypto startup has acquired a new crypto custodian - the Digital Asset Custody Company (DACC).
In the latest blog post on Monday, April 29, Bakkt COO Adam White called DACC’s acquisitions as a part of the company’s attempt to create safe and secure digital asset storage solution.
White further stated that “DACC shares our security-first mindset and brings extensive experience offering secure, scalable custody solutions to institutional clients. The team’s experience integrating multiple blockchains and operating cutting-edge consensus mechanisms is a valuable addition to our team and future product line.”
White said that the acquisition of DACC will also help Bakkt to add new digital currencies, in addition to Bitcoin. He wrote: “As we look to scale and support custody of additional digital assets, DACC’s native support of 13 blockchains and 100+ assets will serve as an important accelerator, and we’re pleased to welcome Matthew Johnson, Adam Healy, and the entire DACC team to Bakkt.”
Besides the DACC acquisition, Bakkt has also entered in a new partnership with the U.S.-based global bank BNY Mellon to set-up a “geographically-distributed” private key storage. With this partnership, Bakkt will leverage BNY Mellon’s expertise to store institutional clients’ assets including asset managers, hedge funds, and broker-dealers.
Commenting further on the security of the private keys, White said: “All cryptographic systems are secured in bank-grade vaults and datacenters that are protected with 24/7 physical security. Role-based permissions strictly limit employee access, and systems are routinely tested to ensure a seamless transition to our parallel disaster recovery facilities”.
Furthermore, to provide an additional protection to all the institutional funds stored offline, Bakkt has recently secured an insurance for the same. White said: “Bakkt uses both warm (online) and cold (offline) wallet architecture to secure customer funds. The majority of assets are stored offline in air-gapped cold wallets that are insured with a $100,000,000 policy underwritten by leading global insurance carriers.”
At present, Bakkt is said to be closely working with the CFTC regulator to launch its platform and Bitcoin Futures contracts as soon as possible.