[2018-10-16] Will Fidelity Be What Brings Crypto Trading To The Masses?

[randall_boss]

Cryptocurrencies have had a rough go of it this year, with the prices of the leading digital tokens including bitcoin and ethereum plummeting. The knock on virtual currency: it has failed to take off with the masses as regulators have increased scrutiny and retailers haven’t embraced it as a payment method.

Fidelity Investments, however, could play a role in changing all that.

This week it announced it was creating a stand-alone company that is focused solely on bringing cryptocurrency trading to institutional investors. Dubbed Fidelity Digital Assets, the company will offer institutional investors custody services, a cryptocurrency platform and advising to its institutional clients.

Fidelity isn’t going after retail investors with the offering, but it could help boost the validity of cryptocurrencies, eventually pushing it downstream to regular investors.  After all, when the CME Group and CBOE World Markets launched their bitcoin futures in the early part of 2018 most of the online brokerages balked at offering it to their retail clients. They worried that the price fluctuation and lack of regulatory oversight could get their customers in trouble. TD Ameritrade, E*TRADE and TradeStation were among the few to move full steam ahead but none have come up with a way yet for retail investors to trade digital tokens directly.

Full article can be found here : https://www.forbes.com/sites/donnafuscaldo/2018/10/16/will-fidelity-be-what-it-takes-to-bring-crypto-trading-to-the-masses/#3198a89b1936

[maryvale]

Not sure how they can "bring crypto trading to masses" even though they don't have an exchange or service or any plan to do it. Sounds like an empty promo article.

[Kakmakr]

You know, when it is dry, every drop of rain counts. 

The bigger picture is the exposure of Bitcoin to institutional capital and the legitimacy of the technology in larger financial institutions. This has a knockoff affect when it is successful, because other companies will follow their example and they will offer the same kind of investment platforms, if it is supported and if it is successful. 

Let's just hope that Fidelity is a good example to follow. 

[Slow death]

Not sure how they can "bring crypto trading to masses" even though they don't have an exchange or service or any plan to do it. Sounds like an empty promo article.

Fidelity Investments is a corporation that has its origins in the United States whose specialty is investment products and services.
Operating profit: US $ 5.3 billion (2017)
Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
CEO: Abigail Johnson (13/10/2014)
Funds under management: USD 7 trillion (2017)
Revenue: USD 18.2 billion (2017)
Parent organization: FMR LLC

Source: Wikipedia

I've never heard of this company, but I did a little research on google and it looks like they know how to deal with things like that. they could create more exposition for bitcoin.

This week it announced it was creating a stand-alone company that is focused solely on bringing cryptocurrency trading to institutional investors. Dubbed Fidelity Digital Assets, the company will offer institutional investors custody services, a cryptocurrency platform and advising to its institutional clients.

I hope this is not some rumor and that later they come to deny this news.

[gentlemand]

No. This year is the same as 2014. No matter how good the news, it won't make any difference to the direction things are fated to go in. We boom, then we bust. We're still busting.

Things like this will count when the sentiment turns around, but it won't do a thing to turn the sentiment itself. You could install a Bitcoin trading tablet in every paving slab on the planet. It wouldn't make any difference until the herd decides to stampede again and it isn't influenced by stuff like this.

[1Referee]

It's going to be difficulty though. It's great that people get excited about these legacy parties entering the space, but what's it worth if they end up dealing with cash settled products only?

It scares the crap out of them about what is needed to operate in a secure enough manner so that they won't get robbed, either offline or online.

People don't understand how difficult it is to secure crypto currencies in the best possible way. It's not a simple matter of using hardware wallets. Generating keys can't be done in the same place over and over again, which is why Coinbase each time uses a different location where it has a tent that's prepared to not leak any data or signals that malicious entities may compromise.

One mistake means they lost their crypto assets for ever. It's not fiat that you can reverse at any time of the day as long as it isn't withdrawn physically.