Initially, Fidelity’s digital assets unit was based in the US. In 2019 it chose to expand to Europe by hiring Chris Tyrer from Barclays to lead the operations. The UK Financial Conduct Authority has granted registration to Fidelity Digital Assets to operate digital asset custody and trade execution. The company is one of the first incumbent financial services players to develop a cryptocurrency custody and trading platform.
In the past, the firm was listed as a temporary member of the FCA. Fidelity now has a money laundering regulations license (MLR), meaning the FCA considers it compliant with money laundering regulations related to crypto.
Fidelity found that institutional investors are increasingly allocating funds to digital assets in the UK and Europe, with 56% of institutional investors investing in digital assets compared to 45% the previous year. Moreover, 75% of the UK and European investors surveyed plan to invest in digital assets in the future.
From the beginning of 2020, the FCA became the AML regulator for crypto firms operating in the UK, and it mandated that crypto firms register with the regulator. Originally, firms were supposed to register their activities by January 10, 2021 or close shop, but the agency extended that deadline during a time of high application volume. Several firms found that their applications had taken several hundred days to review.
As a result, the FCA increased resources for handling applications. The FCA has since approved a number of firms, including Kraken, two Gemini entities, Digivault, and Mode.
