The Crypto Division of Fidelity Investments Made the First Deal in Europe

The cryptocurrency unit of the American asset management company Fidelity Investments made its first deal in Europe, Reuters writes. Fidelity Digital Assets will act as custodian of Bitcoins held by Nickel Digital Asset Management, a London-based crypto investment firm.

Chris Tyrer, the head of Fidelity Digital Assets Europe, said that the difficulties of attracting institutional investors to cryptocurrencies, including regulation, the quality of services provided and high volatility, are gradually fading into the background.

“We see those three factors slowly resolving themselves, and as a result we are seeing a pick up in institutional investor interest,” he said, adding that balanced regulation of cryptocurrencies in the European Union will benefit service providers in this industry.

Tyrer also noted that his unit attracts the interest of family capital management firms, asset managers, and some cryptocurrency companies. He refused to disclose information on the volume of assets under management and the number of clients.

The launch of the European division of Fidelity Digital Assets became known in mid-December. It is located in London and intends to serve local institutional clients. At the same time, it was reported that Fidelity Digital Assets Europe had not yet managed to get any specialized permits to conduct its activities.

“Of course, we will make sure that we act within the framework of the British legal field or any other necessary licenses, but at present, as we understand it, we do not need additional licensing to provide the relevant services in the UK,” said Fidelity Digital Assets COO Michael O’Reilly.

Author: Marko Vidrih

Featured image credit: fnlondon