Bakkt Bitcoin Futures Launching September 23rd: A First for US

Bakkt officially announced they are cleared to launch and plan to launch physically-delivered daily and monthly bitcoin futures contracts on Sept 23 2019.

This long awaited event, which has been postponed many times, marks the first time physically-delivered bitcoin futures will be sold in the US.

Physically-delivered means contracts are closed in physical bitcoin held by the trader who exercises the contract (this is different than CME and CBOE futures which are both cash-settled; i.e. contracts settle in cash).

Further, the custody solution is a rather big deal, because this means not only will Bakkt handle all the bitcoin behind the futures, they will also provide a platform for holding bitcoin for institutional investors.

See the official announcement by Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffier, “Cleared to Launch.”