Crypto Creeps Closer to the Mainstream

Bitcoin, and the wider crypto industry, took a big step forward to mainstream acceptance this week when the owners of the New York Stock Exchange announced they had acquired a crypto custodian service called Digital Asset Custody Company. Atlanta-based Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which owns the NYSE, also applied for its cryptocurrency subsidiary—known as Bakkt—to become a registered trust with the state of New York.

Both of these moves in concert signal the NYSE’s increasing efforts to offer Bitcoin futures contracts, which thus far have been stymied by the CFTC, the regulator having expressed concerns over the storage of Bitcoin.

The NYSE has long had big plans for Bitcoin; it launched Bakkt last fall to much fanfare. Whether it’s any closer now to bringing Bitcoin to mainstream markets remains to be seen.