Fidelity Launches Canada’s First Institutional Bitcoin Custody Service

Fidelity Clearing Canada ULC (FCC) has become Canada’s first regulated entity to offer bitcoin custody and trading services for institutional investors.

“The demand for investing in digital assets is growing considerably and institutional investors have been looking for a regulated dealer platform to access this asset class,” Scott Mackenzie, FCC’s president said in a statement Wednesday.

Institutional investors in Canada such as mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETF) previously had to use U.S.-based custodians. With FCC’s launch, more of these investors could potentially invest in bitcoin directly.

In addition, Fidelity Investments Canada ULC filed preliminary prospectuses for Fidelity Advantage Bitcoin ETF and Fidelity Advantage Bitcoin ETF Fund. The Fidelity Advantage Bitcoin ETF will leverage FCCs custodian services.

Fidelity Investments Canada ULC has over CAD$209 billion (US$166 billion) in assets under management.

Fidelity Investments’ first U.S. bitcoin fund, which is only open to accredited investors, raised $102 million from wealthy investors as of May of this year. Fidelity initially launched its U.S.-based cryptocurrency services in 2018.

Read more: Fidelity Prodded SEC to Approve Bitcoin ETF in Private Meeting