Concrete delivery of Bitcoin (BTC) for futures on the Intercontinental Substitution (Water ice)'s Bakkt platform is going stiff, despite a tumultuous month for the markets.

Information from Arcane Enquiry posted on March 26 reveals that, as of March 20, the number of traders opting to receive concrete delivery of the cryptocurrency rose 44% on the month.

Bakkt delivery of Bitcoin, Oct. 2022- March 2022

Bakkt delivery of Bitcoin, Oct. 2022- March 2022. Source: @ArcaneResearch

Physical vs. cash settlement

Bakkt's Bitcoin futures contracts — the first of their kind to exist physically settled in Bitcoin — first went live in September 2022. At the time, many commentators stated that physically-delivered Bitcoin futures trading, which gives traders direct exposure to the asset, would represent a leap forwards for the institutional credence of the coin.

Notably, while physical delivery of Bitcoin upon contract expiry has significantly increased, other metrics for Bakkt in March — the volume of traded contracts and open interest — are both significantly down.

According to tracking information compiled by Twitter account Bakkt Book Bot (@BakktBot) — which is not affiliated with Bakkt but rather with the Dutch journalist and crypto writer Gert-January Lasterie — the volume of traded contracts on Bakkt on March 25 was at one,161 ($7.73 million), down from an all-time high of vi,601 on Dec. 18, 2022. Open interest was at $4.16 million.

"Newspaper trading"

Equally global markets annotator and trader Alex Krüger has previously noted, the number of traders opting for physical delivery had been underwhelming in the first months since the Bakkt contract's launch. In late November 2022, he said:

"Bakkt has bitcoin bulls excited. Volume is growing exponentially. From a low base, just growing fast even so. Just what makes Bakkt special for bulls is not its book, only how many bitcoins are physically delivered. In November, the number was 17 bitcoins. In October, 15."

In a subsequent tweet, Krüger argued that in autumn 2022, Bakkt action was "not that dissimilar from the CME. It is almost entirely paper trading" — a reference to the greenbacks-settled Bitcoin futures on CME, which beginning launched back in winter 2022.

Past December 2022, Krüger was observing that "most nobody takes physical commitment," calculation: "this is not a problem. It is normal for futures traders to not take delivery, in all assets. Merely Bakkt is no panacea."

The alternatives to physical delivery are choosing to coil over a contract, prolonging price speculation on the underlying asset.

In the case of CME'southward cash-settled Bitcoin futures, their trading has historically fatigued suspicion, with some claiming that Bitcoin's cost is vulnerable to manipulation in accelerate of contract settlements.

In Dec 2022, Bakkt officially confirmed its ain launch of a cash-settled Bitcoin futures contract via Water ice Futures Singapore.