Despite the current market downturn, cryptocurrency and DeFi are gaining traction, with mainstream adoption of blockchain technology seemingly on the horizon. Fidelity Digital Assets is expanding, as a response to this demand, increasing its digital asset team by 70%.
Fidelity Digital Assets (FDA) is a subsidiary of Fidelity Investments focused on support for its institutional customers’ holdings in digital assets. According to Tom Jessop, president of Fidelity Digital Assets, the employees will help the business expand their current cryptocurrency offering:
The pandemic “was a real breakthrough year for the space, given the interest in Bitcoin that accelerated when the pandemic started […] We’ve seen more interest in Ether, so we want to be ahead of that demand,”
In the interview with Bloomberg, Jessop also brought up how Bitcoin has engaged institutional investment, which in turn has opened up the window of opportunity for other cryptocurrencies:
“Bitcoin has really been the entry for a lot of institutions. It’s now really opening up a window on what else is going on in the space”
The president of Fidelity Digital Assets also brought up how traditional trading has set hours, which in crypto is an all day every day business. “We want to be at a place where it’s full-time for most of the week,” Jessop said.
Despite the current market downturn, institutional support has not waned. In fact, many institutional investors see the current market as the ideal investment opportunity. In a similar vein, many retail investors are also looking at the long-term strategy, seeing how institutional investment is still high, and mirroring their strategy.
While Bitcoin is still the main cryptocurrency of interest, institutions are increasingly open to other high-performing cryptocurrencies such as ether. As the regulation of cryptocurrencies starts to take place across the globe, it will be clearer which cryptocurrencies are favoured by institutions.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
