This sea change could start as soon as early 2019. That’s when a startup called Bakkt plans to launch (pending final regulatory approvals). You might not have heard of Bakkt yet, but you will. It was started by the team that runs the New York Stock Exchange – Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). ICE runs the most important futures markets in the world, as well as the “clearing houses,” which are where your money and stocks get exchanged when you make a trade.
This stuff is natural to me. I’ve been studying cryptography since I was a kid growing up outside Los Alamos, New Mexico. My parents worked at the nuclear laboratory there. I was the boy in the corner with the cryptography books. And for die-hard crypto guys like me and Vitalik Buterin, the ethereum cryptocurrency founder who I’ve spent time with, there’s one thing we’ve always dreamed of – that cryptos will overthrow the ordinary financial system and become a widely used currency. It hasn’t happened yet. But that’s not because people don’t want to own and use it. It’s because they can’t. Cryptos were made for computer guys. Buying, storing, moving, and protecting your bitcoin is so complicated some people have lost their entire investments because of a simple typo. Most investors have stayed away – even if they want the huge returns cryptos are capable of – because bitcoin is just too complicated. Now, it’s time for bitcoin – and cryptos – to grow up. HOW ONE STARTUP WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING Soon, no one will remember all the exasperating and complicated steps you had to go through to get your hands on cryptos. The idea of bitcoin “wallets” will be as outdated as dial-up modems. Bitcoin will be fully integrated into the financial system.
Years from now, people will look back on 2018 as the before-and-after point in the cryptocurrency markets.
ICE is precisely what the world of crypto has been missing: a trustworthy “custodian.” A place where you can buy bitcoin with the click of a button... A place that’s insured, secure, and worry-free. The original “custodian” designation has been around for 60 years. If the bank is going to hold your stocks and bonds for you, it has a basic obligation to keep them safe. It keeps records. It makes sure your stocks don’t get lost or stolen.
American Consequences 49
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