Abby Johnson – the CEO and chairman of Fidelity Investments – has commented that she thinks bitcoin and other forms of digital currency will become integral parts of the financial future.
Fidelity Is Moving Forward with Crypto
Not long ago, Fidelity made headlines when it announced it was going to allow customers to invest in digital currencies through their 401K retirement plans. The announcement was met with positive reception from most, though there were doubters out there such as Elizabeth Warren, who questioned the validity of bitcoin and its crypto counterparts and wondered if Fidelity – being such a large company – was acting responsible by allowing traders to become so involved in a speculative and volatile market.
Johnson doesn’t think her company is making a mistake. In fact, she is confident that crypto will soon be a major part of how the world conducts financial transactions. In a recent interview, she explained:
I would have never thought that we would have gotten so much attention for bringing a little bit of bitcoin to a little bit of the 401(k) business.
Johnson was clear, however, that the space is often up and down, and people need to be very careful when investing in digital currencies, especially when using their retirement funds. These are often put away for old age when people are not working or unable to work and many are dealing with regular medical issues that require constant financial attention.
She did mention that she is hopeful about the future of the space given how much regulation has become a major topic of discussion. She commented:
It’s becoming a little more accepted now, but a lot of people are still very confused. You can’t blame them because financial services are a super highly regulated business… There’s no rule framework. Things aren’t sure. It makes people feel uncomfortable… Seeing some of the regulators try to lean into this is very encouraging and exciting for us because if they don’t give us a route to make some of these connections, then it makes it really hard for us on the ground.
She is confident that Fidelity will be successful primarily because it is working so closely with crypto. She mentioned:
What made us successful in the past is not what’s going to make us successful again in the future. The world just doesn’t work that way. I mean, even in the slow moving, lumbering, regulated financial services business.
Is Now the Time to Buy?
She was also confident that the current state of the market opens many buying doors for investors, claiming:
I have this knee-jerk reaction that if you believe that the fundamentals of a long-term case are really strong, when everybody else is dipping, that’s the time to double down… and that’s usually the right move.