US-based investment giant Fidelity, reportedly handling $7.4 trillion in client assets, announced that it will be launching a cryptocurrency arm offering digital asset services targeted at institutional investors.
Enter Fidelity
Fidelity Investments is stepping into the cryptocurrency field, providing custody as well as trade execution services to “sophisticated” investors including market intermediaries, family offices, and hedge funds. In doing so, the asset manager will launch a new company dubbed Fidelity Digital Asset Services, LLC (Fidelity Digital Assets).
Abigail P. Johnson, CEO and Chairman of Fidelity Investments, commented on the matter:
Our goal is to make digitally-native assets, such as bitcoin, more accessible to investors. We expect to continue investing and experimenting, over the long-term, with ways to make this emerging asset class easier for our clients to understand and use.
In the official release, Fidelity cites a research from Greenwich Associates which notes that 70 percent of institutional investors hold that digital currencies will have an impact on the future of the financial industry. Yet, a lot of them are reluctant to enter, which, according to the release, creates an opportunity for Fidelity Digital Assets.
“First Step in a Long-Term Vision”
Fidelity’s move to offer custody and trade execution services is supposedly the company’s first step in a long-term venture into the field of cryptocurrencies.
We started exploring blockchain and digital assets several years ago, and those efforts have been successful in helping us understand and advance our thinking around cryptocurrencies. […] The creation of Fidelity Digital Assets is the first step in a long-term vision to create a full-service enterprise-grade platform for digital assets. – Said Tom Jessop, head of Fidelity Digital Assets.
The investment company is not the first traditional institution to march into the nascent industry of digital currencies, however. Earlier in August, Live Bitcoin News reported that Goldman Sachs is also considering to offer custody services.
What do you think of Fidelity Investments’ foray into the field of cryptocurrencies? Let us know in the comments below!
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