Bakkt LLC, the cryptocurrency startup majority owned by Intercontinental Exchange Inc., the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, today said it has acquired Digital Asset Custody Co. Inc. in an attempt to build out its cryptocurrency offerings.

The price of the acquisition was not disclosed. Founded in 2017 and based in Secaucus, New Jersey, DACC is a purpose-built cryptocurrency custodian for hedge funds, initial coin offering issuers and other institutions. The company has built proprietary technology from the ground up to offer a wide range of cryptocurrency storage options, including air-gapped cold storage with 24/7 physical and digital security.

Bakkt launched into the cryptocurrency market last year, raising $182.5 million in December. The company was launched with a promise of a broad range of services, including bitcoin-settled futures, custodial services and possibly cryptocurrency exchange functionality — a one-stop shop of cryptocurrency services.

Despite being backed by ICE, Bakkt, like others in the cryptocurrency space have, has run up against regulatory hurdles in its attempts to license and open to both the general public and institutional investors.

“DACC shares our security-first mindset and brings extensive experience offering secure, scalable custody solutions to institutional clients,” Adam White, Bakkt’s chief operating officer, wrote on Medium.

In addition to acquiring DACC, Bakkt also announced that it has entered a partnership with the Bank of New York Mellon Corp. to set up “geographically-distributed” private key storage. Coindesk noted that BNY Mellon has a long history of storing institutional clients’ assets, including hedge funds, asset managers and broker-dealers.

Bakkt is also said to have recently applied for a qualified custodian license with the New York Department of Financial Services. The license would allow Bakkt to provide regulated custodial services for crypto assets.

While White was gushing about what Bakkt is developing, the unanswered question is when it may finally go public with its promise of various services. The acquisition of DACC, presumably complete with existing licensing, will certainly help the company in that regard.

Image: Bakkt