Fidelity Digital Assets, one of the first crypto custody and trading platforms launched by an incumbent financial services player, has been granted registration with the UK Financial Conduct Authority for its digital asset custody and trade execution business.
Initially launched in the US, Fidelity made the decision to target Europe with its digital assets unit back in 2019, hiring Chris Tyrer from Barclays to lead operations.
Previously listed as a temporary member on the FCA register, Fidelity Digital Assets has now been moved to the permanent register, allowing the provider to continue to conduct business in the UK and, it says, meet the increasing demands of clients in the region seeking access to digital assets.
“We view this milestone as validation of the operational excellence of our platform and services,” said Tyrer. “We look forward to continuing to help new and existing clients invest in, store and manage digital assets confidently with our enterprise-grade security.”
Fidelity’s 2021 Institutional Investor Digital Assets Study found that the number of institutional investors allocating to digital assets in the UK and Europe is growing year-over-year, with 56% of those surveyed currently invested in digital assets compared to 45% the previous year. Additionally, 75% of UK and European investors surveyed plan to invest in digital assets in the future.
In other related digital asset news in Europe recently was SIX Digital Asset becoming authorised by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) to act as a central securities depository and the associated company, SDX Trading, to act as a stock exchange.