Starbucks to advise on development of bitcoin trading platform

Starbucks has announced it will be helping Intercontinental Exchange, an operator of global exchanges, clearing houses, data and listings services, develop a new company that will serve as a global ecosystem for trading digital assets.

The retailer is one of many firms, including BCG and Microsoft, that will help to develop the company, called Bakkt, by sharing experiences in regulated markets, risk management, technology and consumer experience.

The Bakkt ecosystem will eventually become an open and regulated integrated platform, through which consumers and firms will be able to buy, sell, store and spend digital assets. Its first use case will be trading and converting digital currency bitcoin to currencies deemed legal tender, such as the US dollar.

The ecosystem will use Microsoft’s cloud services to develop regulated markets, warehouses and applications for merchants and consumers.

As the flagship retailer in the project, Starbucks will play a “pivotal role”…