The world’s largest investment firm Fidelity appears to be allowing individual investors to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum. An early access waitlist for investors to trade both assets has been established by the $4.5 trillion asset manager, giving 34 million investors potential access to cryptocurrencies.
Investors will also be able to access beginner-friendly educational materials about the cryptocurrency market through the service known as Fidelity Crypto. In addition, users will have access to stock trading within the same app.
Other digital assets will be considered in the future, although only Bitcoin and Ethereum will be made available first. The website claims trades are commission free. Fidelity Crypto will add a 1% spread to every trade in place of a commission. A spread in the financial markets is the distinction between the quoted buy and sell prices for an item.
Fidelity Crypto
The firm has created an early-access queue for users even though it hasn’t given a specific launch date for the new offering. The brokerage claimed that because a sizable number of its clients are already invested in digital assets, it targets individual investors for commission-free cryptocurrency trading.
The asset manager told CNBC in a statement that “a significant fraction of the firms users are already interested in and hold crypto.”
Fidelity Digital recently introduced Ether custody and trading services to its high-net-worth clients and has since expanded its institutional offerings amid the bear market. In April this year, the asset manager revealed intentions to enable retirement participants to make direct Bitcoin investments through their 401(k) accounts.
Fidelity noted Ethereum’s “increasing influence” and innovation in an email on Thursday, describing it as a “dominant force” with “huge goals.”
In 2018, the asset manager’s cryptocurrency-focused division, Fidelity Digital Assets, started selling Bitcoin to institutions. Just this month, it launched an institutional Ethereum trading department. Now, it will also support Fidelity Crypto.
