Fidelity Investments is considering allowing individual investors to trade bitcoin on its brokerage platform, the financial giant’s latest step into the cryptocurrency space, The Wall Street Journal reported , citing people familiar with the matter.
Fidelity Investments, which has always supported Bitcoin, previously released an investor report called “Bitcoin First” explaining why investors should prioritize investing in Bitcoin when investing in digital assets. Now, Fidelity wants to open up its more than 34 million retail clients to investing in bitcoin
Fidelity built a platform in 2018 that allows institutional investors and hedge funds to trade bitcoin, and recently launched a “Bitcoin 401(k),” a retirement plan account that can invest in digital assets .
While Fidelity has consistently shown that its support for Bitcoin is focused on institutional investors , the “Bitcoin 401(k)” allows the financial giant to cater to a larger customer base, allowing leaders Even the salaried petty bourgeoisie can invest in Bitcoin.
Mike Novogratz, a cryptocurrency tycoon and CEO of Galaxy Holdings, who is also a Fidelity cryptocurrency client, said on Monday that Fidelity should soon join them in offering cryptocurrency services to retail investors.
Mike Novogratz said in a speech at the SALT Symposium: “I have word that Fidelity will soon be moving their retail clients to the cryptocurrency business.” “ I hope this rumor is true. As such, we Will see the great event of this institution.”
Fidelity has not shared this plan with customers.
However, Fidelity’s continued pro-Bitcoin stance has caught lawmakers’ attention. A staunch opponent of bitcoin published an open letter in July condemning Fidelity for offering a bitcoin 401(k).
In particular, the letter contains a paragraph that shows that some U.S. lawmakers feel uncomfortable about offering bitcoin investments to the salary class, “which raises the question of why Fidelity can afford to save for retirement when so many Americans are facing the challenge of saving for retirement. Expose those who can save to an untested, highly volatile asset like Bitcoin?”
Despite Bitcoin’s acceptance as a store of value and tradable currency, it is clear that parliamentarians and traditional institutions still struggle to understand or accept Bitcoin. However, some argue that Fidelity is ignoring these ecosystem noises and continuing to roll out innovative service offerings.
