Fidelity International’s bitcoin ETP approved by FCA for retail access

Fidelity International has announced that it has received regulatory approval from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority to make its UK-listed crypto ETP – Fidelity Physical Bitcoin ETP – available to retail investors in the UK.

Following its authorisation, it will become the first crypto asset made available to Fidelity’s advised platform clients from today (3 November), with further products from a range of providers to be added in the coming weeks. Additional crypto assets may be added over time subject to the normal due diligence process and client demand.

Fidelity International writes that it continues to explore opportunities to extend access to crypto assets to customers of its consumer platform, Fidelity Personal Investing, in the future and will update clients as this process evolves.

Dennis Pellerito, Head of UK Wholesale, Fidelity International, comments: “Until now, many retail investors have been limited to less secure, unregulated channels or indirect exposures such as proxy stocks. We are, therefore, pleased to offer our institutional-grade ETP to retail investors for the first time. The Fidelity Physical Bitcoin ETP was designed to give both retail and professional investors high-quality, institutional-grade access to Bitcoin in a simple, familiar, and secure way.”

Georg Bauer, Head of Investment and Product for Global Platform Solutions, Fidelity International comments: “As a distributor to retail investors via our Fidelity Personal Investing platform (direct clients) and Fidelity Adviser Solutions (advised clients), we remain committed to broadening choice and providing innovative solutions to our customers.

“We are, therefore, pleased to introduce crypto assets to our advised clients for the first time, and we look forward to extending this access to direct clients in due course.

“As always, we encourage retail investors to undertake thorough research and due diligence before investing in any new asset class, including digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum.”

The Fidelity Physical Bitcoin ETP, which tracks the price movement of the world’s leading cryptocurrency, was launched in February 2022 and is listed on the Deutsche Börse Xetra, SIX Swiss Exchange and London Stock Exchange. The firm writes that it aims to represent a convenient and cost-effective way for investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin, with the Ongoing Charges Figure (OCF) recently cut to 0.25 per cent. Fidelity Digital Assets acts as custodian.