https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...nces-bitcoin-venture-with-starbucks-microsoft Exchange giant ICE teams up with Starbucks on crypto venture Bakkt aims to more tightly integrate Bitcoin into the economy It’s hard to buy coffee with Bitcoin, but Starbucks Corp. may be poised to make that easier. The beverage retailer is teaming up with one of the world’s biggest exchange operators, Intercontinental Exchange Inc., which just created a venture called Bakkt designed to more tightly integrate digital currencies into global commerce. Despite Bitcoin’s astronomical surge last year, it’s still not widely used to buy and sell actual goods in most countries. Many startups have sought to take cryptocurrencies mainstream by developing exchanges or payment solutions for merchants, but few have had success connecting all of the necessary players. ICE wants to help change that. ICE said Starbucks and Microsoft Corp. were joining the effort to help consumers and institutions “buy, sell, store and spend digital assets.” The companies didn’t provide a timetable. In addition to ICE and Microsoft’s venture capital arm, investors in Bakkt are expected to include an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group, Eagle Seven, Galaxy Digital, Horizons Ventures, Alan Howard, Pantera Capital, Protocol Ventures and Susquehanna International Group, according to ICE’s statement.