By When one of the world’s largest financial institutions announces that they’re entering the crypto market, this typically goes down as trending news. However, if we consider the tiresome US government shutdown which is currently slowing down many crypto funds, many large investment firms are on the hunt of alternative avenues when entering the crypto arena.
Fidelity Announces Crypto Custody:
As per an announcement from Bloomberg, Fidelity Investments have plans to launch their Bitcoin custody service as early as March. The mutual fund company hopes to put the fears of institutional investors to rest with regards to the technical and volatile nature of crypto investing and trading.
Because both Bakkt and VanEk crypto funds have been postponed, investors hoping to enter the market by February will have to wait.
Fidelity announced a number of crypto products for institutional investors back in October 2018. The firm cited ‘three people familiar with the matter’in their report and added that Bitcoin storage would more than likely be the first service to be offered. Following that firm added that a custody service would be next. An official statement released by Fidelity yesterday added:
“We are currently serving a select set of eligible clients as we continue to build our initial solutions. Over the next several months, we will thoughtfully engage with and prioritise prospective clients based on needs, jurisdiction and other factors.”
As we know, the increasing need for crypto custody stems from the many risks posed when investors leave the investments in the hands of crypto exchanges. As reported by CoinBeat, the number of high profile hacks in the last few years has been startling. CoinCheck suffered a hefty loss of over $500 million just last year.
Obviously, these security breaches do not bode well for confidence in the market by institutional investors who need to know that their crypto investments are kept safe with reputable investment companies. Fidelity who is one the world’s leading providers of mutual funds and retirement savings hopes to fill the niche by offering a service of this nature.
It must be noted though, that is not the first time that Fidelity has sought a foray into the crypto sector.
Abigail Johnson, CEO of Fidelity has been a crypto advocate for several years. Fidelity’s “Fidelity Digita Asset” division has core goals to entice Wall Street whales to the crypto market by offering a safe environment for their assets by means of cryptographic key management. Currently, the firm already has a massive reach as they work with over 13,000 registered financial institutions.
Ultimately, Fidelity could very become the first serious platform for big investors with the launch of their services, currently set for as early as March. With the current decline in the markets, now would be an opportune time for investors to slide in as opposed to that of December 2017 when CBOE and CME started the first Bitcoin hedge funds.
For investors seeking to enter the market now, Fidelity could very be the jumpstart back to markets rising upwards once more. What are your thoughts on the possibility of large conglomerates aiding in the rise of markets? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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