Fidelity is warning retail investors that the early version of its new Bitcoin trading service does not currently support receiving or sending the cryptocurrency.
Earlier this month, Fidelity Investments had opened a waiting list for retail customers interested in buying and selling Bitcoin to sign up.
The new service has already been launched to a number of clients selected from the waiting list. However, The investment manager warns that this is an early version, so sending or withdrawing crypto assets is not yet available.
Nathan Crooks, East Coast managing editor of The Block, reported that the American investment management company sent a series of emails to several of its retail clients to inform them about the availability of its new crypto asset service. «The wait is over», reads the emails sent to investors, Crooks noted.
The Fidelity Crypto service is offered through the company's subsidiary, Fidelity Digital Assets.
Fidelity Investments currently has an average of 30 million clients, some of whom can already gain exposure to the volatility of crypto assets through the company. In October of this year, Fidelity Investments launched a new Ethereum investment product aimed at high-net-worth clients and institutional investors. The company also has several cryptocurrency ETFs (exchange-traded funds) authorized in Canada and a digital asset account called DAA, with which it seeks to offer US employees access to Bitcoin.
What is Bitcoin trading like through Fidelity?
The early opening of this new Bitcoin buying and selling service has raised some concerns in the crypto community. On Twitter, several users have questioned the purchase of bitcoins on a platform where cryptocurrencies cannot be received or sent. However, Fidelity Investments clarified that the limitation on sending or withdrawing bitcoins is only temporary and that it is currently exploring the transfer of cryptocurrencies to activate this function in the future.
On the other hand, the investment management company also warned that the bitcoins its clients acquire within the platform will be held by the same company, which will maintain control over the private keys of the crypto assets. Fidelity's statements come at a critical time for the crypto community, which has been focusing on self-custody amid the fallout from the collapse of FTX.
However, it is a big step for a traditional financial industry giant like Fidelity Investments to continue to delve into the world of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Gabor Gurbacs, strategy advisor at VanEck, commented on his Twitter account that institutional entry into the crypto world will make a difference.
Continue reading: Fidelity extends its Ethereum investment product to institutional clients
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