Google to Help Digital Asset Platform Bakkt Introduce Crypto to Millions of Consumers

Digital asset platform Bakkt has announced a partnership with Google “to introduce digital assets to millions of consumers.” With the partnership, Bakkt says consumers will benefit from the “expanded reach and access” to cryptocurrencies.

Intercontinental Exchange’s digital asset platform, Bakkt, announced Friday that it has partnered with Google “to introduce digital assets to millions of consumers.” By forming a partnership with Google, Bakkt said:

Consumers will benefit from expanded reach and access to digital assets.

Launched in 2018 by Intercontinental Exchange Inc., the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Bakkt enables institutions and consumers to buy, sell, store and spend digital assets, including cryptocurrencies.

Bakkt explained that “users will be able to add their virtual Bakkt Visa Debit Card into Google Pay to purchase everyday goods and services online, in-store, or wherever Google Pay is accepted.” Cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin will be converted to fiat currency for these payments to occur, the company clarified.

Several other cryptocurrency platforms have added Google Pay, including Bitpay and the Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange Coinbase. The former added Google Pay for U.S. cardholders to spend cryptocurrencies in August while the latter enabled Coinbase Card users to pay via Apple Pay and Google Pay in June.

In addition, Bakkt said that it has selected Google Cloud as a preferred cloud provider. The company will market its solutions powered by Google Cloud to leading retailers and merchants in the U.S. Bakkt also plans to leverage Google Cloud’s tools to build new analytics along with artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and geolocation functionality on its platform.

Bakkt CEO Gavin Michael opined: “This partnership is a testament to Bakkt’s strong position in the digital asset marketplace, to empower consumers to enjoy their digital assets in a real-time, secure, reliable manner.”

Kirsten Kliphouse, Google Cloud President of North America, commented:

We are proud to help Bakkt accelerate and scale the availability of their innovative solutions, powered by our technologies.

What do you think about Google and Bakkt making cryptocurrencies more accessible to consumers? Let us know in the comments section below.