What is Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)?

The Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is one of the largest owners of financial and commodity market exchanges that was founded in 2000  by Jeffrey C. Sprecher who is a member of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The creation of ICE was backed by extensive multinational companies such as Goldman Sachs, Total, and Deutsche Bank.

ICE began by offering to trade in companies that dealt with energy products such as crude oil, natural gas, and emissions, but its activities quickly expanded. One of ICE's key goals was to improve trading conditions by increasing pricing transparency, efficiency, liquidity, and lowering expenses. ICE earned a household name among the trade and financial communities.

The fact that ICE has taken a strong stance toward acquisitions of other companies and exchanges is one of the reasons why it developed so quickly. The International Petroleum Exchange, situated in London, was purchased by ICE in 2001, expanding its reach into the British (IPE) market. In addition, ICE became a publicly traded firm in 2005, and it swiftly rose to the top of the Russell 1000 Index.

In 2018, ICE stated that it would create a branch dedicated solely to cryptocurrency trading and Bitcoin futures contracts. Thus, a new company that revolves around cryptocurrencies was created and named Bakkt. Bakkt customers can buy, sell, trade, and swap numerous crypto tokens using a specialized digital wallet. 

During the initial investment round, Bakkt was able to collect an outstanding amount of $182.5 million from investors like Boston Consulting Group, Microsoft, and Pantera Capital. Bakkt stated in 2021 that, following a successful merger with VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings, it will become a publicly-traded company.