Fidelity Investments will be buying and selling Bitcoin for institutional customers in the coming weeks, according to an article by Bloomberg.
One of the largest asset managers in the world, Fidelity is taking the lead by entering the digital currencies’ field and offering “over-the-counter trade execution and order routing for Bitcoin.” Fidelity will not target retail investors, but institutional ones, as following a study released by Fidelity on May 2, 47 percent of institutional investors “think digital assets are worth investing in.”
Fidelity’s Arlene Roberts said: “We currently have a select set of clients we’re supporting on our platform. We will continue to roll out our services over the coming weeks and months based on our clients’ needs, jurisdictions, and other factors. Currently, our service offering is focused on Bitcoin.”
Fidelity survey
As Fidelity is developing its Digital Assets business, it wants to examine and analyse how various institutional bodies such as hedge funds, pensions, and foundations see cryptocurrencies. By questioning 441 institutional investors, Fidelity’s survey found that, “72 percent prefer to buy investment products that hold digital assets, while 57 percent choose to buy them directly.” Additionally, it was revealed that “about half of institutional investors consider digital assets to be worthy of holding in portfolios.”
The survey not only revealed interest in digital currencies, but also concerns about their volatile nature and regulation. As the current market is bear, survey participants expressed their anxiety about certain obstacles regarding cryptos and their adoption by mainstream investors. However, Fidelity Digital Assets’ president Tom Jessop stressed investors’ growing appetite for cryptocurrencies: “More institutional investors are engaging with digital assets, either directly or through service providers, as the potential impact of blockchain technology on financial markets — new and old — becomes more readily apparent.”