Fidelity Considering Offering Crypto Trading to Brokerage Customers: Report

Fidelity has more than 34.4 million individual brokerage accounts, according to the Wall Street Journal.

AccessTimeIconSep 12, 2022 at 7:13 p.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 6:54 p.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Financial services giant Fidelity is contemplating whether to let individual brokerage customers trade bitcoin (BTC), according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the situation.

This potential move follows BlackRock (BLK) partnering with Coinbase (COIN) to offer crypto trading to its institutional customers, a sign Wall Street continues to be attracted by crypto despite the horrible year for digital currency markets.

  • Would You Get Paid in Crypto?
    00:57
    Would You Get Paid in Crypto?
  • Crypto Tax: Everything You Need to Know
    11:59
    Crypto Tax: Everything You Need to Know
  • 3 Crypto Tax Tips
    00:53
    3 Crypto Tax Tips
  • Crypto Tax: Everything You Need to Know
    11:59
    Crypto Tax: Everything You Need to Know
  • Earlier this year, Fidelity announced plans to allow corporate clients to add bitcoin to the 401(k) plans it manages for them. However, the plan has drawn criticism from the U.S. Labor Department and from multiple U.S. senators.

    Fidelity has more than 34.4 million individual brokerage accounts, according to the report.

    Mike Novogratz, CEO of crypto investment firm Galaxy, said during a panel discussion at the SALT New York conference that he had heard Fidelity was moving to offer crypto to retail customers. The Monday panel was about institutional investment in the digital asset space.

    "A bird has told me, a little bird in my ear, that Fidelity is going to shift their retail customers into crypto soon enough," Novogratz said. "I hope that bird is right."

    Fidelity did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    UPDATE (Sept. 12, 2022 19:54 UTC): Added comment from Mike Novogratz and Fidelity's non-response.

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

    Nelson Wang

    Nelson Wang was CoinDesk's news editor for the East Coast. He holds BTC and ETH above CoinDesk's disclosure threshold of $1,000.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.