Reports indicate that coffee giant Starbucks now holds significant equity in the upcoming crypto platform Bakkt. Starbucks which is known for its great coffee and homely environment, earned its Bakkt shares as part of a mutually beneficial agreement that will hopefully see both entities winning in the long run.
The coffee giant will install Bakkt’s payment software in its stores, which customers can use to pay with crypto, according to a report by The Block. Once the plan is rolled out customers will have their digital currencies instantly converted to fiat while paying at a Starbucks, so that crypto-currencies do not end up featuring in the coffee giant’s books of accounts.
Coming to the deal itself between Starbucks and Bakkt, it was not revealed how much equity was handed to Starbucks, but sources and speculators, Suggest it is “disproportionately high” given they did not actually make an investment in cash.
Starbucks first sealed a partnership with Bakkt in August last year, and all indications show that the relationship is destined to flourish. Bakkt, which is owned by intercontinental exchange, plans offer a number of crypto-related services this year. Part of its plans includes the launch of physically backed Bitcoin futures, pending approval from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Bakkt has a lot more to come this year, including phase two of its operation, which includes a partnership with Starbucks and Microsoft, also set to launch this year. The second phase of Bakkt’s operation will go ahead and utilize Microsoft’s cloud solutions to allow people to buy, sell, store and send crypto-currencies on a global network. This will indeed help advance Starbucks’s aforementioned plan to give customers a way to buy drinks and food with crypto.
The what looks set to be a prosperous partnership between crypto transactions platform Bakkt and coffee giant Starbucks, was first made known to the world in august 2018 by Starbucks’ vice president of partnerships, and payments Maria Smith, where she went on to outline future plans that the company had with Bakkt at the time.
She further stated “As the flagship retailer, Starbucks will play a pivotal role in developing practical, trusted and regulated applications for consumers to convert their digital assets into US dollars for use at Starbucks. As a leader in Mobile Pay to our more than 15 million Starbucks Rewards members, Starbucks is committed to innovation for expanding payment options for our customers.”
As a leader in Mobile Pay to our more than 15 million Starbucks Rewards members, Starbucks is committed to innovation for expanding payment options for our customers.”
It has never been a better time to be a crypto enthusiast and Starbucks fan at the same time. As for the crypto usability cynics, this deal will go a long way to prove them wrong. Crypto payments are expected to kick off at all Starbucks outlets in May this year, and with all that cash flow that will be coming in, we can only wait and see the impact that will have on crypto prices.
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