• Fidelity Investments now offers a platform for customers to buy and sell bitcoin.
• The service is only available to U.S. citizens over the age of 18 in eligible states, and includes a 1% spread on trades.
• Critics have warned that trusting large institutions with digital assets can be risky, and self-custody is still the only way to truly use bitcoin sovereignly.
Fidelity Digital Assets Platform Now Open to Public
Customers of Fidelity Investments can now buy and sell bitcoin through the Fidelity Digital Assets platform, which opened its waitlist in November 2022 and was made publicly available yesterday. Trades are subject to a 1% spread, visible in the client execution price, but no fees are charged by Fidelity itself. Trading is only available to U.S. citizens over the age of 18 in eligible states.
Criticisms of Third-Party Trust
Critics have warned against trusting large institutions with their digital assets, citing instability in the crypto market as well as banking crises like the one seen over the last week as evidence of why users should always maintain control over their private keys when using Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. As such, self-custody remains the safest method for using these assets securely and sovereignly.
Transferability Still Unavailable
At this time, customers are not able to transfer their cryptocurrency holdings out of Fidelity Digital Assets into another wallet where they own their private keys; however, at launch there were mentions that this ability would come later on down the line without any indication as to when or how it might be implemented.
Eligible States & Age Requirements
Only those located within certain states will be able to access trading services from Fidelity Investments; additionally, all users must be 18 years or older in order to participate on this platform.
Conclusion
While some may welcome this introduction from one of Wall Street’s most trusted firms, it should still be noted that trusting third parties with crypto assets can pose risks – especially during times of financial stress or crisis – which emphasizes why self-custody is so important for digital asset holders looking for true sovereignty over their funds and data privacy online