According to recent report, Fidelity – an American investment company – is set to launch its Bitcoin (BTC) custody service in March. Fidelity is an investment firm that administers more than $7.2 trillion in client assets. This was reported by Bloomberg on the 29th of January. Citing unnamed sources related to the matter, Bloomberg said that this is the next phase in a plan that began in October last year.
The American investment company announced the launch of a new firm – Fidelity Digital Asset Services – as well as its plans to launch a Bitcoin (BTC) custody services in mid-October last year. However, the firm did not launch the service last year due to some preparations. This firm has scheduled this year for the launch of its offering.
Fidelity Digital Asset Services Aims to Revolutionize the Crypto Custody Space
The new firm will allegedly offer trade execution and custody services for digital assets, aiming for institutional investors such as “hedge funds, market intermediaries, and family offices.” According to the announcement, the platform will not be open for retail investors at the moment.
In a statement, the firm said that: “We are presently open to a select set of eligible customers as we continue to build our initial solutions. Over the next couple of months, we will thoughtfully prioritize and engage with prospective customers based on jurisdiction, needs, as well as other factors.”
Abigail Johnson – the CEO of Fidelity is an outspoken bull of digital currencies. The CEO introduced the mining of Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) at the company back in 2017. At a conference that took place in New York, she said that: “I am a believer. I am one of the few standing before you today from a big financial services firm that has not given up on digital currencies.”
Custody services are commonplaces in bonds and traditional stocks markets and they are third-party services that offer to hold digital assets to minimize the chance of theft. Custody services actually vary from bank to bank. Different banks have different approaches in that they aren’t allowed to use the stored assets for their personal needs.
Top banks such as JP Morgan, Northern Trust, and BNY Mellon offer custody for assets such as securities, money, diamonds, and gold. While financial institutions such as Fidelity is just making a debut into the digital currency space, companies such as Coinbase has been in the field for quite some time. Coinbase is one of the top digital currency trading platforms in the world, and the exchange also renders wallet services.
Coinbase has been offering custody services since July last year. The custodial service of the firm is targeted at institutional clients. The digital currency trading platform recently stated that it had already stored up digital currencies worth more than $20 billion for its clients over the past six years.
Bitcoin (BTC) Price Today – BTC / USD
| Name | Price | 24H % |
|---|---|---|
 | $0.00 | -0.15% |
The most dominant digital currency in the world – Bitcoin (BTC) – has seen a little increase of about two percent over the past twenty-four hours. Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading at $3,500 and it has been trading within that range for quite some time now. The digital currency currently has a market cap of $59.99 billion and its trading volume over the past twenty-four hours is $3.71 billion.
Princess Ogono is a writer, lawyer and fitness enthusiast. She believes cryptocurrencies are the future. When she's not writing, she spends time with her adorable cat, Ginger and works out often.
