Investing.com - Cryptocurrency prices advanced on Monday, with Bitcoin and Ethereum gaining more than 1%. Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) denied earlier reports that it would be accepting Bitcoin as payment.
Bitcoin was up 1.4% to $7,082.9 at 1:00AM ET (05:00 GMT) on the Bitifinex exchange.
Ethereum climbed 1.1% to $411.6 on the Bitifinex exchange.
Ripple was trading at $0.43227, gained 0.07% in the last 24 hours on the Poloniex exchange, while Litecoin also edged up 3.8% to $76.12.
A Starbucks spokesperson clarified that it would not be accepting Bitcoin as payment, and said reports from mainstream media were “misleading.”
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) operator the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) announced on Friday plans to create a new “global platform and ecosystem for digital assets” together with several big-name U.S.-based companies including Starbucks, BCG and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT).
ICE said it is planning to introduce a one-day futures contract in November that would be different from what CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) and CBOE Global Markets currently offer. The owners of the contracts would get Bitcoin, instead of cash, upon expiration, according to ICE.
However, analysts casted doubts over the timing of the release of such products.
“It’s prudent for them as an exchange to list the new and up-and-coming thing, and knowing that this crypto thing is not going to go away, it makes sense for them to do it,” said Maria Adamjee, president of Megalodon Capital. “But is the market actually ready to do this?”
Following the announcement, a number of mainstream media outlets suggested Starbucks might soon be accepting Bitcoin as one of the payment methods, which was quickly denied by Starbucks.
“Customers will not be able to pay for Frappuccinos with bitcoin,” the company said in a statement. Adding that instead, the company is part of a new venture creating a platform to “convert digital assets like Bitcoin into U.S. dollars, which can be used at Starbucks.”