Bakkt to Participate in Four Investor Forums in March: Crypto, Loyalty & Commerce Solutions

• Bakkt Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BKKT) announced it will participate in four upcoming investor forums in March.
• Management will attend KBW Fintech & Payments Conference, Water Tower Research fireside chat, Wolfe Research FinTech Forum, and Barclays Crypto and Blockchain Summit.
• Bakkt is a technology company that connects commerce by offering one ecosystem for cryptocurrency, loyalty, and commerce.

Bakkt to Participate in Four Upcoming Investor Forums

Bakkt Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BKKT) announced today that it will participate in four upcoming investor forums in March. The company is a technology company that connects commerce by offering one ecosystem for cryptocurrency, loyalty, and commerce.

KBW Fintech & Payments Conference

At the KBW Fintech & Payments Conference on March 1st 2023 Chief Product Officer of Bitcoin & Crypto Dan O’Prey will participate in a crypto panel discussion beginning at 4:25 PM ET.

Water Tower Research Fireside Chat

Chief Financial Officer Karen Alexander will be participating at the Water Tower Research Fireside Chat on March 14th 2023 beginning at 1:00 PM ET.

Wolfe Research FinTech Forum

President and Chief Executive Officer Gavin Michael and Chief Financial Officer Karen Alexander will be participating in the Wolfe Research FinTech Forum on March 15th 2023 with a crypto panel discussion beginning at 4:00 PM ET. Management will also be hosting one-on-one investor meetings during this forum as well.

Barclays Crypto and Blockchain Summit

President and Chief Executive Officer Gavin Michael and Chief Financial Officer Karen Alexander will host one-on-one investor meetings during the Barclays Crypto and Blockchain Summit which takes place from March 29th to 30th 2023. Interested parties can listen to a live audio webcast of both the Wolfe Research panel discussion and the Water Tower Research fireside chat from the investor relations section of Bakkt’s website at www.bakkt.com

Catamaran Guru and Trippy Sailors Launch NFT Collection for Adventure Club Members

• Catamaran Guru and Trippy Sailors Adventure Club have collaborated to launch a new NFT collection with exclusive sailing perks for members.
• The NFT collection will offer access to high-end travel experiences and educate about the world of sailing.
• It is estimated that the global market size surrounding NFTs will reach $211.72 billion by 2030.

Catamaran Guru & Trippy Sailors Adventure Club Launch NFT Collection

Catamaran Guru, the go-to company for catamaran owners, has announced a collaboration with Trippy Sailors Adventure Club, an innovative NFT collection with travel utility. Through this partnership, they aim to promote and educate about the world of sailing, as well as open access to high-end exclusive sailing trips through NFT gated experiences.

Utility of NFTs Beyond Digital Art

This year, global brands such as Starbucks, Alo Yoga and Amazon are expanding the utility of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) beyond digital art into ownership verification, memberships, ticketing and metaverse implementations. Although initial hype around this technology has decreased in recent months, it is estimated that the global market size of these tokens will reach $211.72 billion by 2030. This makes it likely that they will break into the global travel industry this year.

Catamaran Guru Reputation & Industry Connections

Catamaran Guru has multiple crewed yachts operating successfully in charter business programs around the world and has built its reputation and industry connections over 30 years in business, helping hundreds of successful yachting businesses and individuals create and operate their vessels while building a strong community amongst sailors. Estelle Cockcroft (founder of Catamaran Guru) stated: “We recognize that there is a generational change happening in travel and we want to remain engaged and in tune with modern trends and innovation.“

Trippy Sailor Adventure Club Offers Real-Life Sailing Perks

Trippy Sailors Adventure Club (TSAC) is a community centered around the love for travel, adventures and sailing. By owning at least one of 5555 Trippy Sailor NFTs available on offer, members get to connect with like-minded individuals form travel groups as well as win free vacations. Through their partnership with Catamaran Guru TSAC offers hundreds of sailing trips for holders where they can enjoy state-of-the-art crewed catamarans when travelling around British Virgin Islands or The Bahamas .

Conclusion

With this collaboration both companies hope to cultivate a new generation of sailors by opening up new markets while remaining engaged in modern trends within yachting industry

Binance Audit of Crypto Holdings Delayed: CEO CZ Cites Difficulties

• Binance’s Asia-Pacific president Leon Foong said on Wednesday that the exchange’s complete audit of its cryptocurrency holdings and liabilities would take longer than first anticipated.
• The cryptocurrency trading platform has not yet found a suitable auditing company to do a full audit of its financials.
• Following the demise of rival cryptocurrency exchange FTX, there have been demands for more openness, and a comprehensive audit of Binance is still outstanding.

Binance Audit Delayed

Binance’s Asia-Pacific president Leon Foong announced on Wednesday that the exchange’s complete audit of its crypto holdings and liabilities would take longer than initially expected. This announcement follows the recent demands for more transparency after rival crypto exchange FTX ceased operations. As such, a comprehensive audit of Binance is still pending.

Auditing Firms Hesitant

Due to heightened scrutiny from authorities, large auditing firms are only just learning about the crypto business while other auditing firms are hesitant to engage with crypto enterprises. Binance previously had an agreement with Mazars Group but they discontinued providing services to cryptocurrency companies due to increased oversight and removed their proof-of-reserves report as well.

CEO „CZ“ Zhao Comments

Changpeng Zhao (“CZ”), CEO of Binance, stated that conducting audits for cryptocurrencies is difficult given their nature as digital assets. Glassnode reported in December that Binance underreported its crypto holdings in its PoR (proof-of-reserves). Additionally, it was acknowledged that some tokens were misplaced by the exchange and put in the same wallet as client cash; however this issue is currently being addressed by them.

FTX Crisis

The collapse of FTX has sparked calls for greater transparency within the industry which has led many exchanges to be held accountable for their operations. This demand has pushed exchanges like Binance towards obtaining an independent third party audit in order to prove they are maintaining proper reserves and preventing any mismanagement or fraud within their systems.

Conclusion

Overall, despite difficulty in finding an external auditor due to varying levels of government scrutiny; Binance continues to work towards providing a thorough audit which will further boost confidence among customers who use their services and become more transparent when it comes to their financials moving forward.

Crypto Market Rallying as Fed Raises Interest Rates by 25 BPS

• The Federal Reserve Board recently voted to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point.
• Markets responded positively, with Bitcoin prices even breaching the $24k mark.
• This is the smallest rate rise since March 2022, signaling a moderation in the pace of its rapid tightening throughout 2022.

Fed Raises Interest Rate

The Federal Reserve Board recently decided to increase interest rates by another quarter of a percentage point. This marks the smallest rate rise since March 2022 and signals a moderation in the pace of its rapid tightening throughout 2022.

Positive Crypto Market Reaction

The crypto market reacted positively to this news, with Bitcoin price even breaching the $24k mark. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $23,823 and is up 4% in the last 24 hours as per CMC. The 10-year Treasury yield has also decreased from 3.9 percent at year’s end to 3.5 percent now.

Stocks Increase on Tuesday

Stocks increased on Tuesday due to the Federal Reserve beginning its two-day meeting, with the technology industry as a whole seeing a 9% monthly increase. A surprising impact on inflation may be triggered if these market responses spark too-rapid increases according to CNBC.

Federal Reserve Continues To Be Vigilant About Inflation

The Federal Reserve continues to be vigilant about inflation and Chairman Jerome Powell delayed raises at this meeting despite it being widely anticipated that he would do so. Despite this being their weakest rise in a year, they remain diligent and determined in their fight against inflationary pressures.

Conclusion

Overall, markets responded positively after news broke out that the Fed had decided to raise interest rates by another quarter of a percentage point – this being their weakest rise in over a year – indicating that they are moderating their fight against inflationary pressures and remain vigilant about potential impacts on markets going forward.