Bakkt and CME appear to be getting traction in new cryptocurrency arena with one or the other way, be it with their new crypto-derivatives products or new application or so.

Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE-backed) ‘Bakkt’ has time and again been in the news for their new services in digital asset segment.

On the back of these successful launch and the buzzing announcement of bitcoin options in the recent past (back in December) with the mounting interests their BTC futures of physical delivery, as part of their other core tenet of mission statement, “unlocking the value of digital assets” through consumer payments. In 2019, they announced Bakkt Cryptocurrency-Centric Consumer App by 2020. Thereby, it is understood that derivatives market among the crypto space is not the only area Bakkt wants to target.

But for this time, Bakkt has been in the news as they have just completed a Series B funding round, through which they managed to raise $300 million from a variety of investors.

Among the major investors, Microsoft’s venture capital subsidiary M12, BCG (Boston Consulting Group), PayU, Goldfinch Partners, the Intercontinental Exchange, CMT Digital, and Pantera Capital have all participated in the round.

The funding round represents Bakkt’s attempt to expand and target a more retail-focused clientele. Bakkt’s CEO Mike Blandina clarified that despite the fact that digital assets are a $1 trillion market, it’s not accessible to everyone.

Bakkt gives users control over their digital assets. Whether it’s miles from your favorite airline, loyalty points from the local grocery store, or bitcoin you’ve purchased, the Bakkt app enables you to aggregate all of these assets into a single digital wallet. In just a few taps you can use those assets to shop at your favorite merchants, send them to family and friends, or convert them to cash. We believe that you hold more value than you realize and we’re here to help you track, spend, and send your digital assets however you want.

To sum up, Bakkt seems to be gearing up to align in the crypto-space by fund raising, by unveiling new apps and products driven by high utilities to achieve customer delight. With this fundraising activity, their projects should be streamlined to combat recent tumble in the crypto-avenues and the utility may now include coupons, customer rewards, loyalty points from various companies as cash etc.