This might be the largest "step forward" towards mass adoption story we'll hear about this year!
The new company, BAKKT (clever, as in "what is crypto backed by?" perhaps?) "...intends to leverage Microsoft cloud solutions to create an open and regulated, global ecosystem for digital assets."
Their first step is fiat/Bitcoin trading as an exchange (which will of course compete with Coinbase, etc) and then provide consumer and merchant solutions to integrate crypto payments.
Starbucks will be their first major retailer test case.
Sources : Berkshire Press Release for full details - https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180803005236/en/Intercontinental-Exchange-Announces-Bakkt-Global-Platform-Ecosystem
Marco Santori's Tweet -
https://twitter.com/msantoriESQ/status/1025377535255822337
- msantoriESQ
"By November..." according to this Fortune.com video
http://fortune.com/video/2018/08/03/starbucks-will-soon-let-you-pay-with-bitcoin/
Google "Starbucks Bitcoin" for tons more very recent stories.
POW! Buy and HODL like never before. This is truly "grande" news :)
EDIT : Starbucks clarifies that they're participating in converting crypto assetts to fiat, which they will then take .. they're not so much "accepting Bitcoin" ... in practice it would be the same for the customer, but a difference worth noting. https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/43pq8p/starbucks-will-not-be-accepting-bitcoin