- Bakkt is ditching its Bakkt App after less than two years
- The consumer-facing app has been live for less time than it was developed
- The company will focus on B2B opportunities instead
It’s a name that will send a thrill of nostalgia through every 2018 crypto market participant, followed by a question of “oh yeah, whatever happened to that?” Bakkt, the crypto platform that was supposed to usher in a new wave of institutional adoption, has not exactly set the world alight since its introduction five years ago, and now it has ditched its consumer product in the hunt for more B2B opportunities. No soul.
Bakkt Was the Talk of the Town in 2018
Bakkt was the talk of the town in 2018, with big names such as Microsoft, BCG, and, yes, Starbucks backing the “global platform and ecosystem for digital assets”. However, its launch during the bear market was about as successful as could be expected (see Coinbase NFT), and, after months of hype, it had quietly plodded on in the background, failing to live up to its lofty expectations with every passing year.
A year after launch, Bakkt announced that it was launching a consumer-facing product to complement its institutional arm, with Starbucks being a “launch partner”. Cue hype once more. At the time, Chief Product Officer Mike Blandina stated how one of Bakkt’s core missions was that of “unlocking the value of digital assets” through consumer payments, with this vision being realized through providing a “consumer platform for managing a digital asset portfolio, whether they wish to store, transact, trade or transfer their assets.”
App Killed off After Less Than Two Years
A mere two and a half years later the platform finally arrived, with customers finally able to buy Starbucks products with bitcoin…if they used it to load up their Starbucks card. Not quite the same, but hey. Having been live for less time than was spent developing it, the Bakkt App is already being ditched. Bakkt President and CEO Gavin Michael revealed in a press release yesterday that the company is winding down the consumer app having acquired Apex Crypto, a turnkey platform for integrated crypto trading in November last year.
Micheal said the ditching of the Bakkt App “ensures we are supporting the relationship our partners and clients have with their customers” and added that it meant the company is “focusing our investment on our core solutions that have product-market fit and are positioned to scale quickly.”
Yeah, whatever. You didn’t pump the bear market in 2018 like everyone said you would so no one cares any more. Worse than a Bitcoin ETF.
