The digital asset platform Bakkt introduced by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in August 2018 was set to launch later this year, according to the CEO of ICE, Jeff Sprecher.

During a Q4 2018 earning conference call Jeff Sprecher shared that more than $1 billion has been invested in strategic initiatives including fixed income, mortgages and along with the launch of its digital asset platform. 

As part of its efforts to develop the product, Bakkt previously announced it was working with Microsoft and Starbucks. The companies provided assistance in both customer experience and risk management for the product.

ICE is a US-based company founded in 2000 which owns exchanges for financial and commodity markets. It operates 23 leading global exchanges, along with the New York Stock Exchange.

Earlier this month, The Crypto Sight reported that ICE and Blockstream have upgraded their joint Cryptocurrency Data Feed product to “offer greater transparency, streaming real-time data” for over 400 fiat and cryptocurrency pairs and new venues & full Level 2 data.