Firm with $4.5 Trillion Worth of Assets Under Management Enables Bitcoin Trading

U.S. asset manager Fidelity Investments has decided to launch Bitcoin (BTC) trading for retail investors, catering to the needs of a growing number of the company’s clients. 

“The wait is over,” the company said in an email m sent to a group of its users on November 28, declaring that a Fidelity brokerage account was necessary to be able to fund a new Fidelity Crypto account, industry site TheBlock.co reported. 

The asset manager has contacted those who have signed up for a waitlist set up for Fidelity clients interested in trading the leading crypto. 

The account says its users will be able to engage in commission-free BTC and Ethereum (ETH) trading. Clients are requested to read and accept numerous disclosures which include a risk statement according to which “investing in, buying, and selling digital assets presents a variety of risks that are not presented by investing in, buying, and selling products in other, more traditional asset classes.”

Taking into consideration the strong market position of the firm, which manages some $4.5 trillion worth of assets, the latest move could provide a major boost for institutional adoption. Moreover, the development is part of a number of decisions the company has taken over the past months in a bid to expand its clients’ exposure to crypto. 

Last October, with the aim to increase its institutional clients’ exposure to crypto, the business moved to enable its institutional clients to trade ETH. Starting October 28, Fidelity’s institutional clients will be enabled this month to buy, sell, and transfer ether.

As part of the asset manager’s strategy to provide new crypto-related investment opportunities to its customers, earlier this year, Fidelity rolled out a new ethereum index fund intended for accredited investors. The launch followed the introduction of a number of crypto-oriented products by the firm. 

“Fidelity Advantage Ether ETF offers secure storage of ether, managed with our in-house services. The ETF allows you to gain exposure to ether and aims to diversify your portfolio with one of the world’s largest cryptocurrencies. Plus, it’s RRSP and TFSA eligible. And because it’s Fidelity, the advantages are all yours,” the company said in a statement. 

“Fidelity Advantage Ether ETF Fund is the mutual fund that invests all its assets in the ETF,” according to Fidelity. 

ETFs are financial instruments that trade on an exchange like stock, but track a specific market or asset, such as BTC.

On a related note, three U.S. senators recently asked the financial services firm to reconsider exposing workplace retirement plans amid the ongoing crypto markets turbulence.