Fidelity Crypto Subsidiary Doubling Workforce Despite Dubious Markets

A subsidiary of Fidelity Investments handling Bitcoin custody and trading for institutional investors intends to double its headcount this year.

Currently employing around 200 people, Fidelity Digital Asset Services LLC plans to hire 110 tech workers to bolster its digital infrastructure, in addition to 100 customer-service specialists, according to President Tom Jessop. Founded in 2018, Fidelity’s digital assets arm anticipates rising demand for cryptocurrency services despite the current market volatility. 

“As the demand for digital assets continues to steadily grow and the marketplace evolves, we will continue to expand our hiring efforts,” Jessop said. “We’re trying not to focus on the downturns and focus on some of the long-term indicators. We are trying to build infrastructure for the future because we measure success over years and decades, not weeks and months.”

Fidelity building crypto infrastructure

The new tech hires will include engineers and developers with blockchain expertise that will augment the company’s digital infrastructure in order to support services for cryptocurrencies besides Bitcoin. While the platform was originally constructed to support the storing, securing, and trading of Bitcoin exclusively, the new infrastructure will focus on supporting custody and trading services for Ethereum.

The new team will also assist in migrating platform data and applications to the cloud. In addition to ensuring the platform continues to offer institutional-grade security through its growth, this development will also enable faster transactions and 24-hour trading support. Finally, the team will also help develop compliance and tax-reporting tools.

Bitcoin 401(k)

The expansion comes after Fidelity Investments announced in April that it would enable employers to allow their employees to include Bitcoin in their 401(k) accounts. Employers can allow up to 20% of their employees’ portfolio to be allocated to Bitcoin, but some are still entitled to withhold that opportunity.

While lauded by some, some financial regulatory authorities have taken issue with the offer. Officials within the Department of Labor said they had “grave concerns,”  while US Senator Elizabeth Warren also composed a letter to the company expressing a similar sentiment.