Bakkt, a crypto-venture of Intercontinental Exchange, announced that it has partnered with Manasquan Bank. The partnership will enable the retail clients of the bank to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies. The announcement made on Twitter read,
“We’re pleased to work with @ManasquanBank to bring their retail clients’ access to buy, see, and hold cryptocurrency within their trusted digital banking environment.”
This partnership is second in line with the platform’s partnership with Mastercard. Manasquan Bank is a New Jersey-based bank that has a total of $2.7 billion in assets. The bank will act as a gateway for its retail investors to dap into crypto via its mobile banking app as part.
Part of the bigger picture
This partnership is part of Bakkt’s early adopter program. This program is scheduled to launch in the second quarter of 2022. The blog post on the same said,
“Manasquan Bank will be making cryptocurrency access simple and approachable within the digital banking environment their clients know and trust, while ensuring the bank is participating in this expanding space with the opportunity to break into new audience segments.”
The gateway between banks and retail investors
Bakkt will be playing the role of an enabler that allows banks to step into this space in a seamless manner. The digital assets platform will also open doors for the banks to access multiple cryptocurrencies in a regulated environment.
Sheela Zemlin, the Chief Revenue Officer of Bakkt said,
“This is an incredible opportunity to provide Manasquan Bank clients with an entry point to adopt cryptocurrency as an additional asset option. It’s clear that cryptocurrency is the center of the Web3 economy, in which consumers can participate in new value creation and exchange with digital assets.”
Notably, the partnership comes days after the platform announced that it had gone public. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange with the symbol BKKT.
