Fidelity is one of the largest asset management firms in the world, with an estimated $6.9 trillion AUM. Speaking at FinTech week in Boston, Abigail Johnson – Fidelity CEO – revealed that it’s working on a handful of crypto-related projects that it could reveal by the end of the year. This could be the big news that the crypto markets are waiting for, and could help trigger a fresh bull run.
While Johnson didn’t allude to much when she dropped the bomb, we can expect some form of product for institutional investors to be the end result. Fidelity will be joining the likes of JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, all of whom are known to be working on crypto-related products.
Bitcoin ETF Desperately Desired
Crypto markets have been reacting very badly to the negative news coming from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding Bitcoin ETFs. The SEC has declined numerous BTC ETFs in the past few months, but it looks like it might be about to approve VanEck’s application. If the SEC approves the VanEck BTC ETF, we could see a number of other ETFs appear in the space, and Fidelity could well be working on a product like this.
The SEC has called for accredited investors and knowledgeable individuals to help explain things, in order for it to understand how a Bitcoin ETF would work. This means that the SEC is at least considering the potential approval of a Bitcoin ETF.
Accredited Investors Flooding in
Accredited investors are flooding into the crypto markets thanks to a Bitcoin mutual fund launched by First Block Capital. The Canadian firm spent countless hours helping to educate the local regulatory body, detailing how crypto markets work and how its product would operate. This hard work paid off, as the Canadian regulators approved First Block Capital’s Bitcoin fund. In turn, this has given accredited investors a portal into the crypto markets without the need to sign up to a crypto exchange or make use of a hardware wallet.
Not Fidelity’s First Dip in the Crypto Pool
Fidelity has dabbled in crypto before, meaning it has a certain level of experience. Its independent public charity arm began allowing people to donate to it using cryptos back in 2015. To that extent, during the 2017 bull market over $69 million was donated in Bitcoin alone.
All eyes are glued to the SEC at the moment, as crypto markets await a decision from it regarding the VenEck Bitcoin ETF application. News is expected to break before October 1st, but it might take a few more weeks if recent applications are anything to go by. If Fidelity is indeed working on some form of crypto-related fund, we could see some very positive sentiment in the crypto markets.
