Shares of the publicly listed crypto exchange Bakkt (NYSE: BKKT) surged after it announced it is partnering with two financial heavyweights; MasterCard and Fiserv.
Bakkt started as a crypto exchange for institutional investors but it has moved into the consumer space and launched an app that lets people manage their digital assets.
Bakkt stock was publicly listed on October 18 becoming the second crypto exchange to be publicly listed after Coinbase.
The stock closed Monday on a high note after gaining +21.45 (+234.43%) to close at $30.60.
Bakkt’s partnership with MasterCard will allow banks and businesses to be able to issue their own branded crypto credit and debit cards to their consumers. The holders of these cards can then go ahead to buy Bitcoin (BTC) through Bakkt or even link to a fiat-based deposit method to buy Bitcoin.
At the All Markets Summit on Monday, Bakkt CEO Gavin Michael said:
“We want to provide consumer choice. We want to be able to provide the availability to use cryptocurrency in an everyday transaction.”
Besides allowing businesses to issue their customer with cards, the Mastercard partnership is also expected to allow companies to offer cryptocurrencies as part of their loyalty programs. For example, restaurants and hotels that offer points for freebies or any other reward perks could offer customers an option for converting the points into a cryptocurrency of their choosing.
The partnership name at a time when there is an increased interest in America for people to use digital assets in transactions. Noting this, Michael also said:
“We’re seeing an increased amount of consumer choice in the ability to be able to use their form of payment … While we’re in the early stages of making this run, we’re showing the ability for people to be able to offer our merchants the ability to offer these new forms of payment as a way to acquire and appeal to new customer segments. We see a demographic that skews somewhat younger.”
MasterCard’s partnership with Bakkt came shortly after the crypto exchange announced its partnership with Google allowing users to pay for services and purchase goods using cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC) through the Google Pay Wallet and payment system.
After announcing the MasterCard partnership, Bakkt, also went ahead to announce that it is also partnering with Fiserv to offer companies with more options for making crypto payments.
Fiserv will work with Bakkt to help customers to transfer crypto-assets into and from their mobile wallets with ease.
Bakkt’s partnership with Fiserv and MasterCard is viewed by many as a game-changer in the crypto space.
The move is expected to raise awareness about cryptocurrencies among consumers and also bolster businesses’ confidence in integrating crypto services into their daily operations.