One of the world’s largest financial services organisations, Fidelity has officially started opening retail bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) trading accounts. Earlier this month, the company announced its move into the crypto market and launched an early access list. Users on the list have received an email stating “The wait is over”, which further details the launch of its crypto trading services.
Users will need a Fidelity brokerage account to fund their new crypto account. The platform promises commission-free trading of BTC and ETH, and users can freely trade amounts from as low as $1. Users on the wait list were also asked to read and accept a number of disclosure agreements in the email sent on Monday. These agreements included the standard crypto risk statement, cautioning users of the volatile risks of the market compared to traditional asset classes.
Fidelity brings a breath of fresh air to the crypto market
Although the crypto market has been hurting from declining prices from the beginning of this year, this month in particular has been crippling for the industry. The collapse of the FTX exchange and its affiliates have deeply impacted the market sentiment, as billions in user funds have been locked or lost. As credibility is continuously declining in the industry, Fidelity’s announcement will definitely uplift the crypto community’s morale.
The London-based organisation is one of the largest financial service providers in the US and Europe. Its acceptance of crypto is a positive sign for the community, as it shows that crypto adoption is still going strong even when the market is in turmoil.
Fidelity has always kept a pro-crypto stance. The company started mining bitcoins in 2014, and it also launched a spot bitcoin ETF last December in Canada. The company were also the first in the financial services industry to provide bitcoin offerings for its core investment partners – a strategy that was heavily criticized by US senators.
As per reports, users on the wait list are already able to buy crypto using their Fidelity accounts, but crypto transfer (send/recieve) services are not avaialbe yet.
Source: https://www.cryptopolitan.com/fidelity-opens-crypto-trading-accounts/