Boston-based investment giant Fidelity, which manages more than 34.4 million retail accounts and is one of the world’s largest fund managers, is weighing whether to offer bitcoin to its individual investors.
The company has not shared those plans with customers. Fidelity has an app that allows its retail clients to manage their investments from their mobile phones. Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz at the SALT Forum in New York said that he has heard rumors about the company’s plans that Fidelity will soon convert their retail customers to crypto.
He linked Fidelity’s report plans to those recently announced by global investment firms Franklin Templeton and BlackRock Solutions as part of “continued institutional adoption of Bitcoin.”
Fidelity has been exploring the world of cryptocurrencies for some time. In April, news broke that Fidelity, the largest provider of 401(k) savings accounts in the United States, would launch a product that would allow employees to save 20% of their retirement funds in bitcoin.
The company also launched two new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) this year, giving clients exposure to companies in the cryptocurrency and Metaverse. It also filed with the SEC to launch a bitcoin ETF, which, if approved, would give customers direct access to the digital asset.
Last year, Fidelity’s director of global macro, Jurrien Timmer, said the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization “has a unique advantage over gold.” Bitcoin is becoming more reliable as a digital analogue of gold, but with more curvature, and I think over time Bitcoin will gain more of the market share of gold, he said.
