Crypto Investor Reveals Fidelity Has Hundreds “Passionate” About Bitcoin

Crypto Investor Reveals Fidelity Has Hundreds “Passionate” About Bitcoin

logo
Updated on: May 13th, 2020 2020-05-13 17:45:50
This content has been Fact-Checked.
As much as cynics like to say crypto is dead, this may not exactly be the case. Rumor has it that in spite of the crash in the Bitcoin price, interest in this nascent asset class and related technolog

As much as cynics like to say crypto is dead, this may not exactly be the case. Rumor has it that in spite of the crash in the Bitcoin price, interest in this nascent asset class and related technologies is abound. A recent tweet from a leading industry investor, who likely cited his first-hand experience, would confirm this trend.

Fidelity’s Crypto Culture Is “Bonkers”

Ari Paul, the founder & chief investment officer of BlockTower Capital, claims that Fidelity Investments, a Boston-based financial services giant, has a cryptocurrency culture that is “bonkers.” The investor remarks that there are “hundreds of passionate advocates” of the innovation from the C-Suite to the lower rungs of the executive ladder, accentuating that Wall Street sees value in this ecosystem. In fact, Paul states that in 2015, the chief executive of the institution herself, the esteemed Abigail Johnson, was personally mining Bitcoin, right in her lofty office. He adds that there are more crypto-focused staffers at Fidelity than the “five biggest industry funds combined.”

This might not be hearsay either. In an interview with industry journalist Laura Shin, Tom Jessop, the head of digital assets at the American powerhouse, explained that the company has an R&D branch that has had its eye on cryptocurrencies since 2013-2014. He notes that once upon a time, the company even had an internal pilot that allowed employees to purchase food for bitcoin, underscoring Fidelity’s long-standing support for what many traditional economists have deemed the devil’s spawn.

This uplifting comment comes as Fidelity recently became the first mainstream finance company to launch its own fully-fledged cryptocurrency division — Digital Asset Services (FDAS). For those who missed the memo, FDAS’ custodial solution and trade execution platform reportedly recently soft-launched to a “select” list of clients — an assumed dozen or so. While a dozen is far from all the world’s institutions, this forward-thinking facet of Fidelity is looking to expand its horizons.

In an interview with Frank Chaparro at The Block, Jessop explained that out of the 450 institutional clients (diverse data set) it interviewed, 20% had either an active interest in cryptocurrency or an intent to foray. Extrapolating that number to Fidelity’s ~20,000 clients in that subset, 4,000 institutions alone could harness what FDAS has to offer.

Maybe the bears should calm their incessant beating of the “crypto is dead” drum.

Bitcoin Institutional Interest Abound

All this only goes to show that 2018’s downturn hasn’t done much to quell interest in cryptocurrencies.

Endowments have begun to clamor for investment opportunities in this budding space. The University of Michigan’s endowment, which has $12 billion in assets, recently announced its intentions to siphon more of its funds into crypto-centric funds in the near future. Per a Board of Regents agenda, the institution has its eyes on a “cryptonetwork technology” (they likely mean blockchain technology) fund managed by the world-renowned Andreessen Horowitz. More specifically “CNK Fund I,” as the vehicle in question has been dubbed by the Menlo Park, California-based venture group that backs it, is currently in the University of Michigan’s scopes. According to Kevin Hegarty, the chief financial officer at the state-run educational institution, CNK invests in “cryptonetwork technology companies across the spectrum of seed, venture and growth stage opportunities.”

American pension funds, two from Fairfax County, Virginia to be specific, have also started to “get off zero,” as Morgan Creek Digital’s Anthony Pompliano would say. The state’s police force and government employee pension plans recently led a fundraising round for Morgan Creek’s latest venture, a $40 million fund centered around garnering equity in leading upstarts, like Bakkt, Coinbase, and Harbor, and allocations in physical cryptocurrencies.’

As reported by BlockGeeks previously, Visa, too, plans to get its hand in some crypto pies. In a job posting recently pinned to SmartRecruiters, it was revealed that Visa is looking for a “technical product manager.” This, of course, doesn’t scream “crypto” or “blockchain,” but the job description sure does. For this position, the multinational payment processing giant is looking for a product manager for its Visa Crypto team, based in Palo Alto. Said individual will need to “possess significant functional knowledge of the cryptocurrency ecosystem,” with a preferred familiarity of cryptography.

But what fruit will these forays bring? Some fear it could be more centralized ‘cryptocurrencies’, like JP Morgan’s Quorum-based stablecoin that will be centralized to high hell. But some are confident that somehow, someway, institutions will smarten up, and open their arms to decentralized cryptocurrencies as they realize their potential.

Title Image Courtesy of Samson Creative Via Unsplash
Nick Chong
Nick is an avid crypto-native investor and analyst working for ParaFi Capital, a Digital Asset Management Company. Armed with all the latest crypto mumbo jumbo, Nick will navigate your crypto investments like his own. He knows the crypto market and has been actively supporting the best founders in the crypto space since 2017 - through his researched articles & his data-driven expertise. Nick is a proud contributor for Forbes, OKCoin, HTC, Binance, LongHash Research, and CryptoSlate. It's something he’s really proud of, besides his pecan pie. Oh yes, Nick loves his pecan pie and knows exactly how to bake it to perfection. You can connect with Nick on Twitter.

Like what you read? Give us one like or share it to your friends and get +16 bl

2
Please to comment
newest oldest most voted
trackback

example of dissertation https://dissertations-writing.org/

trackback

help with dissertation research https://mydissertationwritinghelp.com/

trackback

dissertation help in new york https://help-with-dissertations.com/

trackback

dissertation editors near me https://dissertationwriting-service.com/

trackback

dissertation writing support https://buydissertationhelp.com/

trackback
trackback
trackback

indiana grand slots list https://411slotmachine.com/

trackback
trackback

free vegas igt slots https://beat-slot-machines.com/

trackback

free slots instant play https://slot-machine-sale.com/

trackback

free quarter diamond slots https://slotmachinesforum.net/

trackback

fortnite weapon slots https://slotmachinesworld.com/

trackback
trackback

gsn casino free slots https://candylandslotmachine.com/

trackback
trackback

gay filipino dating https://speedgaydate.com/

trackback

gay chat room in nj https://gay-buddies.com/

trackback

gay male chat site https://gaytgpost.com/

trackback

nippleplay gay dating site https://gaypridee.com/

trackback

free live gay webcam chat rooms https://bjsgaychatroom.info/

trackback

2redolent

Hungry for knowledge?
New guides and courses each week
Looking to invest?
Market data, analysis, and reports
Just curious?
A community of blockchain experts to help

Get started today

Already have an account? Sign In