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Fidelity Investments has quietly opened access to bitcoin and ether trading to all of its retail traders, filling a void created by the closures in recent days of cryptocurrency-friendly banks that bridged the divide between digital and traditional finance.

The Fidelity Crypto platform, previously available only to institutions and some waitlisted customers, was made available earlier this month. Individual investors can now buy and sell bitcoin and ether and use custodial and trading services provided by Fidelity Digital Assets.

Clients are not yet able to transfer cryptocurrency to or from their Fidelity accounts. The company said it would be exploring cryptocurrency transfers in November, shortly after announcing the waitlist, but hasnt provided a clear timeline.

The separation of investors from the passwords known as private keys that allow direct owners to take custody of their cryptocurrencies combined with the inability to transfer holdings means that Fidelity retains custody of the assets. A string of bankruptcies among crypto exchanges and investment programs last year illustrated the drawbacks of entrusting digital assets to intermediaries, though Fidelitys size and reputation likely mitigates the risk.

The company has not responded to a Forbes request for more information.

Trading is open only to U.S. citizens over the age of 18 who reside in one of the 36 states where Fidelity Digital Assets offers services.

Following the footsteps of stock-trading app Robinhood and crypto exchange Binance.US, the asset manager has touted the offering as commission-free, but theres a catch: a 1% fee will be added to each transaction. The company calls the fee a spread and defines it as the difference between your execution price and the price at which Fidelity Digital Assets fills your order.

The move comes at a time when the U.S. cryptocurrency market is facing regulatory pressure, sparked by multiple high-profile collapses last year, and closures of crypto-friendly banks including the Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate and Signature.

Still, the Fidelity service provides both the credibility that crypto has needed and the opportunity for investors, most of whom rely on their financial advisors for investment strategies, says Ric Edelman, a financial advisor and founder of Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals.

In addition to cryptocurrency trading, Fidelity also provides, Fidelity Ethereum Index Fund, which tracks the performance of the coin in U.S dollars. In December, the asset manager filed three trademark applications for providing NFT and metaverse investment services.

Continue reading here:

Amid Crypto Bank Crisis, Fidelity Expands Bitcoin, Ether Trading To Most Retail Accounts - Forbes

It's been a tough time for cryptocurrency but, despite volatility, you still need to know how the technology works, said Douglas Boneparth, a certified financial planner based in New York.

The digital currency market dropped by nearly $1.4 trillion in 2022, following a cascade of bankruptcies and liquidity issues, including the high-profile collapse of crypto exchange FTX. In March, crypto-focused Silvergate Capital announced plans to wind down operations and regulators shut down crypto lender Signature Bank.

Although the crypto market rallied at the start of 2023, assets recently tumbled again, with bitcoin falling below $20,000 on Friday, triggered by a stock market sell-off in the U.S. But bitcoin surged by 10% on Monday, following the news of U.S. regulators' plans to safeguard depositors and financial institutions associated with Silicon Valley Bank.

Here are more FA Council perspectives on how to navigate this economy while building wealth.

Boneparth, who is president of Bone Fide Wealth and a member of CNBC's Financial Advisor Council, said the recent events and crypto market volatility have made him even more "bullish" on learning about the technology.

"Clearly, the decentralized financial world is interconnected to the traditional financial world more so now than ever before," he said.

An early adopter of digital currency since 2013, mostly in bitcoin, Boneparth said there's plenty to learn about the technology we'll inevitably see more from in the future.

"This doesn't necessarily mean you should be allocating your money there," he said. But he believes you should be investing your time and energy to see where the technology may be heading.

"I've learned a lot in my journey without having to take an exorbitant amount of risk," Boneparth said.

When it comes to cryptocurrency, he said the "best thing you can do" is learn about the technology and how decentralized finance works. "A little bit would go a long way," he added.

Ive learned a lot in my journey without having to take an exorbitant amount of risk.

Douglas Boneparth

President of Bone Fide Wealth

"That's powerful stuff," Boneparth said. "It's not always putting your money into the latest craze of crypto; it's learning what it's all about."

While many advisors won't recommend clients buy or sell digital currency, Boneparth said investors may come to his practice looking for guidance on existing crypto allocations.

"Some people have amassed quite a bit of money in cryptocurrency," he said. "And it's my job to show them what the risks are, how that concentration and that asset can impact their long-term goals and their portfolio."

Boneparth said it's important to know how owning any particular type of asset may affect your financial goals, especially "volatile assets" like cryptocurrency.

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Despite market volatility, advisor says he's 'bullish' on crypto education. Here's why - CNBC

Fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) about Bitcoin stemming from the collapse of a single bank contributed to its downward trend earlier this week.

Yet, the failure of yet another bank may have reversed the publics opinion and brought back support for the king coin. However, Bitcoin may have been affected differently by the Silicon Valley bank run that triggered a drop in USDC.

Read Bitcoin (BTC) Price Prediction 2023-24

The California Financial Institutions Control Board closed Silicon Valley Bank, a significant bank for startups with venture capital backing. It was the first bank insured by the FDIC to go bankrupt in 2023.

The California regulator has designated the FDIC as the receiver to safeguard insured savings, although the reason for the shutdown is unknown. SVB, one of the 20 largest banks in the U.S. by total assets, financed several startups focusing on cryptocurrencies.

Peoples reactions to the SVB failure suggest uncertainty is the current prevalent mood. The process of withdrawing assets for customers with $250,000 or more has sparked discussions based on a thread by Mark Cuban (an American businessman) and the following comments.

In addition, Circle announced in a statement that over $3 billion of its $40 billion was held by SVB. Another negative reaction has been the flight of USDC holders exchanging their holdings for other stablecoins and Bitcoin.

According to Santiment statistics, the accumulation of whales and sharks continued despite the FUD that was caused by the Silvergate crash.

As of this writing, addresses with 10-10,000 BTC had risen to over 67%. Looking at the data, it is clear that on 11 March, there was an upswing in whale and shark accumulation, coinciding with the time that USDC was experiencing a capital flight.

In addition, the volume metric on Santiment revealed some intriguing actions. By 9 a.m. UTC on March 11, BTC volume had already reached 45 billion, and by 17:00 UTC, it had reached 35 billion.

This volume is notable because it is the highest Bitcoin has seen since December. There is little doubt that this is a sign of a rise in business activity. There were more than 39 billion as of this writing.

Even if the amount of trades has increased, most tokens have left exchanges. More and more Bitcoin (BTC) holders are moving their coins off exchanges because of the continuing swap with USDC.

CryptoQuants Netflow measure shows that on 10 March, more BTC left the system than entered; this trend persisted as of this writing.

Looking at the spot price of BTC/USDC at the time of writing, we can see that BTC has increased in value by more than 11% on a daily timeframe. At the time of writing, one Bitcoin was worth roughly $22,600 at the current USDC exchange rate.

Yet, on a daily timeframe, the BTC/USD spot price showed that it had lost almost 1% of its value, trading at around $19,900 and $20,000.

Is your portfolio green? Check out the Bitcoin Profit Calculator

A possible indicator of the degree of interdependence between conventional finance and cryptocurrency is the publics reaction to the SVB failure, which was focused on Bitcoin and stablecoins.

Even so, Bitcoin showed that, despite its volatility, it could be a viable alternative store of wealth.

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Bitcoin: Fall of Silicon Valley Bank might be a silver lining for BTC, heres why - AMBCrypto News

Digital financial assets (DFAs) for a total exceeding $26 million have been issued in Russia in the past year. This new market has been developing since it was regulated in 2021 and the countrys monetary authority started licensing issuers in the following year.

Less than a year since Central Bank of Russia (CBR)-approved entities began issuing digital financial assets, these have issued DFAs for 2 billion rubles (over $26 million). The data was announced by Ekaterina Frolovicheva, general director of the tokenization service Atomyze.

Speaking at a round table in the Digital Financial Assets New Tool for Attracting Liquidity Public Chamber, Frolovicheva explained that the first DFA issuer was added to Bank of Russias register on Feb. 3, 2022, but the issuing of DFAs started several months later.

Quoted by the Tass news agency, she also noted that the unique features of DFAs make them extremely attractive and that demand is on the rise. For example, hybrid digital rights combine the properties of digital financial assets and utilitarian digital rights, simultaneously certifying a monetary claim and right to demand the transfer of an asset.

Stablecoins, when not intended for settlements, as well as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) can be issued as hybrid digital rights in the Russian Federation. Thats possible under the law On Digital Financial Assets which went into force in January 2021. However, the country has yet to regulate operations with decentralized cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.

Atomyze is one of the platforms authorized by the CBR to issue DFAs, alongside the fintech company Lighthouse, as well as Sberbank and Alfa-Bank, Russias largest state-owned and private bank, respectively. Another entity was recently licensed Distributed Registry Systems, which operates the Masterchain blockchain platform.

Russians will soon be able to invest in DFAs along with other instruments, such as stocks and bonds, while avoiding the risks associated with traditional instruments and bypassing financial market intermediaries, commented Maxim Trofimov, CEO of a company called Digital Assets.

Do you expect the digital assets market to continue to expand in Russia? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.

Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchenss quote: Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do. Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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Digital Assets Worth 2 Billion Rubles Issued in Russia in Less Than ... - Bitcoin News

14 March 2023

Image source, Getty Images

NatWest is limiting the amount of money customers can transfer to cryptocurrency exchanges.

From Tuesday, customers will be able to transfer a maximum of 1,000 a day to such exchanges, and no more than 5,000 per month.

The bank says it is to protect customers from "crypto-criminals" seeking to scam them.

NatWest head of fraud protection Stuart Skinner said the bank had seen an increase in the number of scams linked to cryptocurrency, with UK consumers losing an estimated 329m from such criminal acts.

He also gave advice to help people avoid being duped.

"You should always have sole control of your cryptocurrency wallet and nobody else should have access," he said.

"If you didn't set the wallet up yourself or can't access the money then this is likely to be a scam."

In June 2021, NatWest introduced some daily caps on customers' transfers to crypto exchanges, with the limits varying in size depending on the platform in question.

At the time, it cited concerns over investment scams and fraud.

Benoit Marzouk, chief executive of BitcoinPoint, a crypto trading app registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said the limits imposed by NatWest were too restrictive and did not address the problem itself.

"Banks should instead focus on educating their users about the most common scams clients are falling victim to, typically the 'recovery of your funds' or demanding that you pay a withdrawal fee prior to the 'release of funds'," he told the BBC.

NatWest's announcement comes the same day as crypto exchange Binance announced it was stopping people from depositing and withdrawing their cash in pounds sterling.

Binance, which has more than 128 million customers, did not give details on the number of clients the move would impact.

The company is working to find an "alternative solution" for sterling transfers, a Binance spokesperson said.

Binance last month suspended all dollar bank transfers amid a growing crackdown on crypto by US authorities.

Previously Binance had been issued a warning by the FCA, the UK's financial regulator.

The FCA warned consumers in June 2021 that Binance did not hold "any form" of permission to offer services regulated in the UK.

The importance of sterling funding to Binance is unclear.

The company does not make public its finances, with the core of the business - the giant Binance.com exchange - mostly hidden from public view.

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NatWest limits cryptocurrency transfers over scam fears - BBC