ICE CEO - They're well along in building out an infrastructure that I think you'll see launch later this year.
Mr. Jeffrey C. Sprecher the CEO of the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) expects the company's digital asset platform Bakkt to launch later in 2019. He made the comment during an earnings call Thursday, Feb. 7.
The call was dedicated to ICE’s financial results for Q4 and the full year of 2018. He explained that the company spent over $1 billion on strategic initiatives, including on the launch of Bakkt the digital asset platform.
Intercontinental Exchange operates 23 leading global exchanges worldwide, along with the well know NYSE New York Stock Exchange.
The company’s Chief Financial Officer Scott Hill, said Bakkt is set to bring, based on its current financial performance:
“And finally, our investment in Bakkt will generate $20 million to $25 million of expense based upon the run rate in the first quarter. We will update you on progress at Bakkt and the level of investment as we move through the year.”
When asked about growth from recent investments, including Bakkt, Sprecher characterized the crypto platform as a “moonshot bet” for ICE:
“So it's a bit of a moonshot bet and it's been organized in a manner that is very different than the way ICE typically does businesses [...] They're well along in building out an infrastructure that I think you'll see launch later this year.”
ICE announced the launch of Bakkt in August 2018. The company was ready to launch in early 2019, but the date was delayed due to the consultations with the United States Commodity Futures and Trading Commission.