As per experts, Fidelity Investments is planning to officially start its new crypto custody service in the coming March. Fidelity Investments which is a leader in mutual-fund business is aiming to move forward with the plan that would assist smoothen trading in cryptocurrencies.
In October last year, the firm had declared that they are planning to offer various crypto related products which would be made for large investors like hedge funds.
As per the reliable sources who preferred to be anonyms revealed that Bitcoin storage would be the first one to be available and ether would be the next one. The company, in a statement, stated that “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 prioritize prospective clients based on needs, jurisdiction and other factors.”
‘Custody,’ which is a common exercise in the current financial markets such as stocks, is an activity in which the third party holds and manages the securities to minimize the risk associated with the securities getting misplaced or stolen. As this activity is growing grounds, various startups have introduced safekeeping service to tap into this sector, but several Wall Street professionals still prefer to work with large financial services firm for such activities, which makes Fidelity a preferred choice.
Other biggies such as Bank of New York Mellon Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Northern Trust Corp are also considering to enter this field. Apparently, the activity of digital coins theft is still on the rise thereby increasing the need for such services.
Abigail Johnson, Fidelity Chief Executive Officer, who has always been a supporter of digital assets, is making a niche for herself, setting her apart from her competitors. It was under her guidance in 2015 that the firm started the process of bitcoin mining. She is quite confident that the Fidelity Digital Assets business would please the market’s emerging demand for trading and protecting digital currencies.
Fidelity, which has a large customer base share in the retirement savings and mutual funds sector is expecting to bank on its goodwill and attract institutional customers desirous to enter the digital currency trading.
The firm has been quite aggressive in its business penetration and is already engaged with more than 13,000 financial institutions. Further, during the last year, the company also hired Tom Jessop, who is a prominent figure in the crypto world, to head its corporate business development function. Tom Jessop was previously the president of Chain Inc., a company which was engaged in offering blockchain technology to various financial companies.
Jessop had then stated that few institutional clients are keen to step into the crypto world, but “needed a trusted platform provider.” He also added that “These institutions require a sophisticated level of service and security, equal to the experience they’re used to when trading stocks or bonds.”
