Fidelity opens commission-free crypto trading

Crypto News: Fidelity Crypto finally opens to the public and gives access to Bitcoin and Ethereum investments to tens of millions of users. The product from Fidelity Digital Assets was previously only available to users on a waiting list.

Fidelity Crypto opens access to the masses: the details

Fidelity Crypto is now available to new customers and the company’s more than 37 million retail users and will enable trading of Bitcoin and Ethereum without fees on the platform.

As expected, Bitcoin and Ether transactions on the app are free. In fact, Fidelity Digital Assets will collect a spread of no more than 1%. Fidelity Crypto is open to new and existing customers: new customers must create one Fidelity Brokerage account during the setup process.

However, the service is not currently available in all states. Bitcoin and Ethereum are the two assets that users can trade right now, although withdrawals are not yet enabled on the platform.

Fidelity, which has 37.1 million retail accounts in total, has been ahead of most of its US peers in offering cryptocurrencies to retail customers. The full launch took place in recent weeks, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The launch coincided with an increasingly warmer Legislative environment in the US and the collapse of two of the largest cryptocurrency banking partners, Silvergate and signature bank. The investment manager filed three US trademark applications in late 2022, which included offering services in the metaverse and other virtual worlds.

The trademark applications of Fidelity Crypto

As expected, Fidelity entered three American trademark applications to provide services in the metaverse and other virtual worlds in its latest step into the realm of digital assets.

Specifically, the company wants to offer its traditional services in alternative realities, according to the documents. The applications mention NFT markets and NFT tokensvirtual real estate investment, cryptocurrency trading and metaverse investment services.

Back in October, Fidelity Crypto said it was planning another one 100 cryptocurrency rental to expand its digital asset team to 500. The company opened commission-free cryptocurrency trading accounts in November after initially announcing a waiting list.

However, it is worth noting that the company has received some push back. In fact, three US senators last month called for a reconsideration of the decision to allow participants in pension plans to invest in Bitcoin, saying the industry has become increasingly “volatile, turbulent and chaotic.”

Updates regarding Signature Bank and crypto regulation

As expected above, Fidelity Crypto’s move comes at a very delicate time for the blockchain industry and the market in general, given the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and the closure of Silvergate and Signature Bank.

Specifically, Signature Bank, a crypto-friendly bank, was reportedly under investigation by two US authorities before its collapse.

According to a Bloomberg article published March 15, citing people familiar with the matter, Justice Department investigators were looking into whether Signature had taken adequate steps to detect potential money money laundering of its customers.

The regulator was particularly concerned about whether the bank was taking preventative measures to monitor transactions for “signs of criminality” and to properly verify account holders.

According to two anonymous sources cited by Bloomberg, a separate investigation by The Security and Exchange Commission also monitored the bank closely. However, no details were provided about the nature of the SEC investigation.

It is also unclear when the investigation began and what effect it had on the recent decision by New York state authorities to close the bank.

Signature and its employees are reportedly not accused of wrongdoing, and the investigation may be concluded without the SEC or the Department of Justice (DOJ) bringing charges or taking further action.

The news comes in the wake of a class-action lawsuit filed March 14 by Signature shareholders against the bank and its former executives alleging they were “financially strong” just three days before the forced closure.

13 March, Barney Franka former Signature Bank board member, said regulators wanted to “send a very strong anti-crypto message.”

Frank added that the crypto-friendly bank became the “poster boy” since there was “no insolvency based on fundamentals.”