Fidelity UK will provide crypto services to European entities.

Fidelity Digital Assets has branched out across the Atlantic and incorporated its UK arm on December 16. The UK office will offer crypto services to European businesses, hedge funds, and family offices, according to Financial News.

Chris Tyrer, previously a managing director at Barclays investment bank will head the business. He will be responsible for business development and customer services. In due course, depending on business growth, he would add a team of supporting staff.

Fidelity Digital Assets UK/Europe

Fidelity Digital Assets currently offers crypto trading and custody services in the US. It has been involved in the development of crypto products since 2014. It offers these services only in bitcoin but may extend them to other digital currencies in 2020.

Fidelity Digital Assets aims to develop institutional clientele by addressing their concerns regarding the security of trading and custody of cryptocurrencies.

Michael O’Reilly, chief operating officer of Fidelity Digital Assets, said: “Both the fintech and crypto communities in London are strong and that’s evident from what we’ve seen from client demand or client requests.”

Regulatory compliance UK

Crypto market makers provide trading liquidity to Fidelity’s crypto platform, but the fund manager will soon set up a crypto exchange. Fidelity stores clients’ crypto assets on hard drives and keeps them in offline cold storage vaults.

According to O’Reilly, Fidelity Digital Assets requires no additional licensing for the UK entity. “Obviously we’ll make sure that we’re compliant with any UK or any other licenses that are required,” he added, however.

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