Fidelity to Offer Bitcoin and Ethereum Trading to Retail Investors

Investment giant Fidelity appears to finally be granting its retail investors access to Bitcoin and Ethereum trading. 

The $4.5 trillion asset manager has established an early access waitlist for users to trade both assets, bringing potential crypto access to 34 million investors.

• The service, titled Fidelity Crypto, will also provide investors with beginner-friendly educational resources about the crypto industry. Users will be able to trade stocks within the same app.
• Though only Bitcoin and Ethereum will be offered at first, other digital assets will be considered in future. It remains unclear when the product will launch. 
• Via email on Thursday, Fidelity called Bitcoin a “dominant force” with “big ambitions,” while noting Ethereum’s “growing influence” and capacity for innovation. 
• Fidelity Digital Assets – the asset manager’s crypto-focused unit – began offering Bitcoin to institutions in 2018. It opened its institutional Ethereum trading desk as recently as last month. It will now back Fidelity Crypto as well. 
• The site says trades are “commission free”. However, it noted that Fidelity will charge a maximal 1% spread based on the difference between the price at which a user’s crypto was bought and the price at which the order was filled. 
• Fidelity’s retail-focused product arrives less than two weeks after Fidelity Institutional President Michael Durbin said he sees more room for crypto in consumer portfolios. 
• Rumors about the offering emerged in September, when sources contacted by the Wall Street Journal said Fidelity was weighing plans on the matter. Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz floated the same rumor at the time.
• Fidelity began allowing corporate clients to add Bitcoin to their 401(k) retirement accounts earlier this year – though this didn’t sit well with some congresspeople.