On trade date 23 September 2019, ICE Futures US listed Bakkt Bitcoin (USD) daily and monthly futures. Trading for that session opened at 20:00 New York time on Sunday 22 September; Bakkt said the first print was 20:02 ET at $10,115. The contracts are physically settled into bitcoin held in the Bakkt Warehouse, a qualified custodian under Bakkt Trust Company (NYDFS). ICE Clear US clears. CME’s cash-settled bitcoin futures from December 2017 pay dollars, not coins. Neither listing writes a BIP.
Starbucks payment talk and later Bakkt IPOs are later products. This page is the futures open.
What happened
A derivatives venue owned by the company that owns the NYSE offered a contract that, at expiry, moves actual bitcoin between warehouse accounts instead of a cash difference. That is how oil and metals already work. It is still a listed product with margin, a clearing house, and a custodian. Spot holders who never touch ICE did not receive a new coin.
Why it matters
Physically settled futures can pull coins into a warehouse and give institutions a regulated tape. They do not make bitcoin an equity, and they do not make Bakkt the chain. See how buying crypto actually works. See BitMEX’s later charging piece if you want unregistered leverage, not this wrapper.
What happens next
Thin early volume, warehouse insurance headlines, and copy about “Wall Street arriving”. We will not target BTC off an open. Nothing here is an instruction to trade futures, or to buy or sell bitcoin.
