The financial giant will now allow customers to trade bitcoin, though they won’t be able to withdraw it for safekeeping.
Fidelity Investments clients can now buy bitcoins through the broker. The Fidelity Crypto platform, first opened to a waiting list in November 2022, is now available to the public, starting yesterday.
Clients can buy and sell bitcoins, although they will not be able to transfer it to a self-custody wallet where the user controls their private keys. During the launch of the waiting list, there were mention of this capability will come later, but no details or roadmap beyond that have been provided.
When trading, clients will not be charged a “fee”, but a 1% spread, which fidelity has defined as “the difference between the price at which you buy or sell cryptocurrency in your Fidelity Crypto account and the price at which Fidelity Digital Assets executes your order.” This spread will be visible in the client’s strike price.
Trading will only be available to US residents over the age of 18 in eligible states.
Fidelity’s foray into cryptocurrency has not been without criticism, with a group of senators, stating in a letter to the financial firm:
“Fidelity Investments has chosen to expand beyond traditional finance and delve into the highly volatile and increasingly risky digital asset market.”
But that apparently hasn’t stopped Fidelity.
While your introduction of service to the public may be welcome, it is specifically in times like the current banking crisis that more emphasis needs to be placed on self-custody. Trust in exceptionally large institutions like Fidelity is what has led to the fiasco of the past week.
So while Fidelity is often considered a highly trusted institution, it should still be noted that trusted third parties are security holesand that the only true way to use bitcoin in a sovereign manner is through possession of one’s own private keys.
