Fidelity Investments Now Offers Bitcoin, And 3 US Senators Aren't Happy About It

Finance industry giant Fidelity Investments emailed its customers today to announce: “The wait is over” — that is the wait to buy Bitcoin BTC/USD through Fidelity. 

In late October, the firm released its fourth annual report on Digital Assets. The study found that 58% of institutional investors surveyed had invested in digital assets in the first half of 2022, while 74% plan to invest. A week later, Fidelity posted a waitlist for customers interested in “early access to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum.”

See Also: 3 US Senators Urge Fidelity Investments To End BTC Exposure On Retirement Plans

Experts from the traditional and Web3 financial spaces will be speaking about the mainstreaming of cryptocurrency at Benzinga's Future of Crypto event on Dec. 7 at Pier Sixty in New York City. 

Fidelity has had an early interest in digital assets. It began mining for Bitcoin in 2014.

However, recently three U.S. Senators, Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent a letter to Fidelity CEO Abigail Johnson, asking the company to reconsider offering Bitcoin as part of its retirement plan products.

The letter reads in part: “In light of recent stunning events in the digital asset market… we strongly urge Fidelity investments to reconsider its decision to allow 401(k) plan sponsor to expose plan participants to Bitcoin. Any investment strategy which relies on catching lightning in a bottle, or motivated by fear of missing out, is doomed to fail.”

The letter points out that 32 million customers and 22,000 employees rely on Fidelity for their retirement plans. 

According to its website, Fidelity Investments has nearly 40 million investing clients, administrates $9.6 trillion in assets, and handles over 3 million daily trades.

Some of the best minds and most important projects in Web3 will be in attendance, including Rarible, Cosmos, Yuga Labs, Solana, Laguna Labs, and Algorand. Keynote speakers include Kevin O'Leary and Anthony Scaramucci.

*Cover image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay.