Fidelity will permit its 34 million individual investors to purchase bitcoin, according to a report

By: Henry Felix

Fidelity will permit its 34 million individual investors to purchase bitcoin, according to a report

September 12, 2022 10:49 PM

It has been reported that the pro-bitcoin financial giant is considering letting its more than 34 million individual investors purchase bitcoin through its online brokerage.


According to the Wall Street Journal, Fidelity Investments is thinking about letting individual clients buy bitcoin through its brokerage services.


The pro-bitcoin bank had previously published a report titled Bitcoin First, which detailed the many reasons why bitcoin was the best digital asset for investors to consider. Now Fidelity wants to make this investment option available to its more than 34 million customers.


Fidelity, in 2018, established a platform for institutional investors and hedge funds to trade bitcoin, and in 2019, it partnered with MicroStrategy to introduce Bitcoin 401(k) plans (k).


Even though Fidelity has consistently demonstrated a pro-bitcoin focus for its institutional-grade investors, the 401(k) product allowed the financial behemoth to still cater to a larger clientele by putting bitcoin in the hands of everyday workers.


This persistent endorsement of bitcoin, however, has caught the attention of lawmakers in ways that are not desirable. In July, a group of bitcoin skeptics wrote an open letter criticizing Fidelity for including bitcoin in its 401(k) offering.


Indeed, one passage from the letter exemplifies the attitude of some U.S. legislators toward the distribution of bitcoin to the middle class:


And it raises the question, "Why would Fidelity allow those capable of saving to be linked to a questionable, highly volatile asset like Bitcoin?" given the difficulty many Americans have in putting away money for retirement.


Legislators and established institutions are still struggling to accept bitcoin as legal tender or even to grasp its potential as a medium of exchange. It could be argued, though, that Fidelity is oblivious to the buzz in the ecosystem and instead focuses on releasing ground-breaking new services.