Bakkt joins the payment battle! App features span across crypto trading, mobile payments, and reward points.

Bakkt, the Bitcoin futures trading platform owned by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), had previously revealed plans to launch a consumer-facing application earlier this year. Now, this encrypted payment wallet is open to early registrants, with the hope of gathering feedback from users.

Spanning Fiat, Cryptocurrency, and Mobile Payments

Bakkt has sent out an email to early registered users, indicating that the application has released the following features:

• USD deposits and withdrawals (connect bank account for a $20 reward)
• Loyalty points and rewards account overview
• Bitcoin trading feature

The development team claims that the following features will be rolled out in the coming weeks:

• Instant USD deposits
• Gift card purchases
• Bakkt Cash as a payment option on the Starbucks App

Entering the Mobile Payment Arena

The cryptocurrency wallet has not been given a specific name, with Bakkt simply referring to it as the Digital Wallet or Bakkt App. Initially revealed by CEO Adam White at this year'sFinancial Innovation Forum, the product in development will treat any form of digitized valuable items as assets, including cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, reward points, stocks, and more.

The payment app is understood to bind virtual credit cards to mobile payment systems like Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc., enabling contactless payments through NFC technology. Interestingly, Bakkt's open testing coincided with the day before PayPal opened cryptocurrency trading to all U.S. users.

In the image below, the wallet integrates cryptocurrency asset trading, cash (bank accounts), and reward points including airline miles. Bakkt not only conducted tests with Starbucks last year but also acquired loyalty rewards service provider Bridge2 for $300 million.

The Bakkt exchange launched options and futures trading in December last year, with initial performance falling short of market expectations. While trading volume has increased since then and hit a new high in October this year, it still lags behind major cryptocurrency exchanges.