Bakkt makes another series of hires ahead of launch

Bakkt, a cryptocurrency platform run by Intercontinental Exchange, continues targeting the minds of top financial institutions, recruiting two new directors, The Block has learned.

 

Erik Haas has joined from ICE as director of compliance, and Rachel Ford has been appointed Bakkt’s strategic operations manager, leaving her role at Techstars. Haas spent nine years heading the regulation department at ICE, Bakkt’s parent exchange.

 

As first reported by The Block last month, Bakkt is continuing to build its team ahead of its delayed launch date, specifically aimed at hiring engineers for its mobile app. The new hires join an earlier swathe of engineering and management recruits made last year as well as Adam White, who joined as COO from Coinbase. 

 

The firm closed a $182 million fundraising round at the end of last year and has big plans to open a new market for bitcoin futures this year, although the launch date remains unclear. Originally, its bitcoin futures product was supposed to begin trading in 2018.