I Love Bitcoin, Ethereum’ Says Fidelity CEO As Company Finalizes Coinbase Integration
Asset manager Fidelity Investments has announced it will integrate Coinbase for customers to view virtual currency holdings.
In a move which takes Fidelity increasingly beyond the pace of mainstream finance sector players, discussions are underway to see the integration completed “in the second or third quarter this year,” Reuters reports.
Speaking at this week’s Consensus 2017 conference in New York, CEO Abigail Johnson said she “loved” Bitcoin, Ethereum and Blockchain.
“I love this stuff – Bitcoin, Ethereum, Blockchain technology – and what the future holds,” she told attendees.
Fidelity has been active in Bitcoin experimentation before and continues to test use cases.
The company is currently piloting Bitcoin payments in its canteen, which has seen modest uptake so far. On a larger scale, Johnson reported that a private mining operation had been set up “in the spirit of learning.”
“We have built proofs of concepts that accept bitcoin micro-transactions,” she added in further news.
Fidelity was also the first financial member of Blockchain focus group IC3, a joint effort to promote and examine how Blockchain technology can work for businesses.
Nonetheless, Johnson remains grounded in reality as Bitcoin shoots above $2,300.
“If you are looking for Bitcoin to beat Visa at the point of sale today, you are going to be disappointed,” she said.
“But I am still a believer – and it’s no accident that I’m one of the few standing before you today from a large financial services firm that hasn’t given up on digital currencies.”
by 