‘Order Espresso And Pay With Bakkt Cash’ Is Now Official

A major digital asset platform is pioneering the paying-for-coffee process with a new feature. We are talking about Bakkt Cash, the new feature from the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) which lets people order espresso and pay with their digital money directly from an app.

Even though this was something we saw being planned in the cryptocurrency news since August 2018, the coffee giant Starbucks and Bakkt have officially partnered now and the new payment integration is live, as declared on Twitter (see post below).

We're also reducing payment costs for merchants which improves their bottom line. Open your @Starbucks app to see our first direct integration and select @Bakkt to sign up for our Early Access Program pic.twitter.com/sZ3YlE0Sj9

— Adam White (@WhiteAdamL) March 16, 2020

Considered to be one of the most promising crypto based initiatives, Bakkt recently raised $300 million in a funding round to continue developing its digital asset focused services. The funds come at a time when both crypto and stock markets are tumultuous due to the restrictions enforced to prevent the coronavirus from spreading. ICE, which is the parent company behind Bakkt, previously said that they planned to use the raised capital to buy software for developing the Bakkt app.

And this is how the process probably went. You can now order espresso at Starbucks and pay with Bakkt Cash. Even though the use of the app might eventually be available to all of its users, White emphasized that customers had to sign up for the platform’s Early Access Program and take advantage of the new payment integration.

Several Bitcoin news updates from sources show that Bakkt apparently said that the crypto option is only in limited beta for now:

“We are currently conducting a limited test for our customers, using the Bakkt payment method. Customers can see Bakkt as an option but the test is only available at this time.”

Additionally, select users can select Bakkt Cash as a payment option and order espresso to pay with the app. However, the bad news is that Starbucks has closed all of its locations to eat-in customers on account of the coronavirus outbreak. This means that from now on, only to-go orders will be allowed until further notice.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) today is at $5,267, up by 13% from yesterday’s levels. ETH and XRP have also jumped by more than 9% overnight, going to $116 and $0.148 respectively. The biggest gainer in the top 10 today is Bitcoin Cash (BCH) which jumped by 17% to a new price of $181 following news about meetups in Japan and how they are still happening in a virtual way.