Customers Can Deposit Bitcoin to Bakkt’s Warehouse Starting Next WeekBakkt will open its warehouse to customers’ bitcoin on Sept. 6 in anticipation of its impending futures contract offerings, the company announced Wednesday.
In a tweet, the Intercontinental Exchange-backed bitcoin futures provider said it would begin offering customers secure storage for bitcoin “to prepare for the launch” of its daily and monthly futures contracts on Sept. 23.
https://www.coindesk.com/customers-can-deposit-bitcoin-to-bakkts-warehouse-starting-next-week The first regulated exchange for Bitcoin. If I understand correctly this tweet, the investor must buy bitcoins from another exchange and bring them to bakkt's custody. Then he makes the contract and at the end of the day/month, he will have more or less bitcoins, depending on his bet success. I am not sure how long he can keep the bitcoins in the custody. I've read somewhere about a limit of 12 months, but I can't find it now. So, let's say that a Wall Street company wants to invest in Bitcoin, but didn't decide it so far, because of the risks involved in buying and storing the coins. Now they can buy via OTC deal and send the coins to bakkt custody. In this way the coins will be safe with the insurance bakkt gives. This is a very important step which one day may persuade SEC to allow an ETF. Their main concern so far was the lack of a big regulated market, where the coins can be kept safe with an insurance for the investors.
It would be interesting to know what is the ratio of retail/institutions buys. Not so long ago it was 100/0. This year CB reported about $1 bil per month from insitutions which is 1/8 of their volume. I have a doubt about that statement by CB's chief, but still there must be some truth in it. Let's say that we have roughly a 90/10 ratio this year. With bakkt it can go to 80/20, and with an ETF to 50/50 very quickly. On the other hand, the total savings of the population of the Earth is estimated around $300 trln. So, with the mass adoption if only 1% is used to buy bitcoins, then the price will reach $166 666 per
BTC (x 18 000 000=$3 trln). And if institutions buy with another $3 trln this gives $333 333 per
BTC. And all this in the foreseable future of 5 years. For a longer period, the ratio will change to 10/90 and the price may really reach and surpass $1 mil.
Of course, most of us wouldn't wait that long. I will probably cash out most of my stash below 100K.