富达的加密货币游戏：向数字领域的深思熟虑的飞跃

在首席执行官阿比盖尔·约翰逊 (Abigail Johnson) 的领导下，富达 (Fidelity) 自 2014 年起开始拥抱区块链技术，开始开采比特币。尽管比特币支付的实验不成功，但该公司已成为加密货币领域的领导者，提供比特币 ETF、托管服务和交易平台。随着加密货币市场的蓬勃发展，富达计划扩大其产品范围，探索其他加密货币的质押、托管和代币化，同时应对监管不确定性并保持谨慎而创新的方法。

Fidelity's Crypto Gambit: A Prudent Embrace of the Digital Frontier

富达的加密策略：谨慎拥抱数字前沿

Under the visionary leadership of CEO Abigail Johnson, Fidelity Investments, the venerable Boston-based financial behemoth, has embarked on a strategic foray into the realm of blockchain technology, a move that has catapulted the firm to the forefront of the burgeoning crypto asset industry.

在首席执行官阿比盖尔·约翰逊 (Abigail Johnson) 富有远见的领导下，总部位于波士顿的著名金融巨头富达投资 (Fidelity Investments) 开始战略性进军区块链技术领域，此举使该公司跻身新兴加密资产行业的前沿。

Early Explorations and a Failed Experiment

早期探索和失败的实验

As early as 2014, Fidelity ventured into the uncharted waters of cryptocurrency mining, establishing a Bitcoin mining operation within its own offices. "We recognize that the evolution of technology is poised to disrupt our industry," Johnson declared at a blockchain event in 2017.

早在 2014 年，富达就涉足加密货币挖矿的未知领域，在自己的办公室内建立了比特币挖矿业务。约翰逊在 2017 年的一次区块链活动上宣称：“我们认识到技术的发展将颠覆我们的行业。”

Despite the company's enthusiasm, an experiment that allowed employees to purchase hamburgers using Bitcoin proved unsuccessful. As Michael O'Reilly, president of Fidelity's digital assets division, candidly admitted to Fortune, only the project's architects showed any interest in the payment option.

尽管该公司热情高涨，但一项允许员工使用比特币购买汉堡包的实验被证明并不成功。正如富达数字资产部门总裁迈克尔·奥莱利（Michael O'Reilly）向《财富》杂志坦言，只有该项目的架构师对这种支付方式表现出了兴趣。

A Resounding Success in Crypto

加密货币领域的巨大成功

Undeterred by the lackluster reception to its Bitcoin-based employee perk, Fidelity's broader crypto gamble has yielded resounding success. Today, the firm boasts the second-most popular Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) with nearly $7 billion in inflows since its inception in January. Fidelity has also established a custody service for Bitcoin and Ether, giving it a competitive edge over rivals scrambling to catch up.

富达并没有因其基于比特币的员工福利反响平平而望而却步，其更广泛的加密货币赌博取得了巨大的成功。如今，该公司拥有第二受欢迎的比特币交易所交易基金 (ETF)，自 1 月份成立以来已有近 70 亿美元的资金流入。富达还为比特币和以太币建立了托管服务，这使其比奋起直追的竞争对手更具竞争优势。

Moreover, Fidelity's multiyear head start in the blockchain market positions it advantageously as crypto prices surge once again. O'Reilly and his colleagues are adamant that the company is just getting started.

此外，随着加密货币价格再次飙升，富达在区块链市场的多年领先优势使其处于有利地位。奥莱利和他的同事坚信公司才刚刚起步。

A 'Qualified Custodian' in the Crypto Landscape

加密货币领域的“合格托管人”

Fidelity's foray into crypto commenced in earnest in October 2018 when it became the first traditional financial institution to offer custody services for Bitcoin on behalf of institutional investors. This move was followed four years later by BNY Mellon. In the same month, Fidelity launched its Bitcoin trading platform, further solidifying its presence in the digital asset space.

富达于 2018 年 10 月正式进军加密货币领域，成为第一家代表机构投资者提供比特币托管服务的传统金融机构。四年后，纽约梅隆银行也采取了这一举措。同月，富达推出了比特币交易平台，进一步巩固了其在数字资产领域的地位。

The following year, Fidelity secured a license from the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) to provide both trading and custody services. Unlike cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase, Fidelity's platform operates as an execution service, with Fidelity acting as the counterparty in every trade and sourcing liquidity providers for buyers and sellers.

次年，富达获得纽约金融服务部 (DFS) 颁发的提供交易和托管服务的许可证。与 Coinbase 等加密货币交易所不同，Fidelity 的平台作为执行服务运行，Fidelity 充当每笔交易的交易对手，并为买家和卖家寻找流动性提供商。

In 2022, Fidelity expanded its custody and trading services to include Ether, recognizing the growing importance of the Ethereum blockchain. Terrence Dempsey, a product manager at Fidelity, emphasized that this approach not only ensures more consistent pricing but also facilitates clients' entry into the volatile world of crypto by providing a familiar financial framework.

2022 年，富达认识到以太坊区块链日益增长的重要性，将其托管和交易服务扩展到包括以太坊。富达 (Fidelity) 产品经理 Terrence Dempsey 强调，这种方法不仅可以确保定价更加一致，还可以通过提供熟悉的财务框架，帮助客户进入动荡的加密货币世界。

Navigating Regulatory Uncertainties

应对监管的不确定性

While Fidelity's Bitcoin ETF is its most prominent crypto product, its custody and trading platform have laid the groundwork for its success. As the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) deliberates on the regulatory framework for crypto asset custodians and their accounting practices, Fidelity finds itself in a unique position.

虽然富达的比特币 ETF 是其最著名的加密产品，但其托管和交易平台为其成功奠定了基础。随着美国证券交易委员会（SEC）审议加密资产托管人的监管框架及其会计实践，富达发现自己处于独特的地位。

Fidelity's trust charter from the DFS places it within the proposed category of "qualified custodian," and the firm has actively advocated for state-chartered trust companies to be included in this definition. Additionally, Fidelity's status as a non-public reporting company may exempt it from the controversial accounting bulletin (SAB 121) that would require custodians to treat digital assets as liabilities on their balance sheets. However, the financial industry's understanding of this guidance is still evolving.

富达 (Fidelity) 的 DFS 信托章程将其纳入拟议的“合格托管人”类别，并且该公司积极倡导将国家特许信托公司纳入这一定义。此外，富达作为非公开报告公司的地位可能使其免受有争议的会计公告（SAB 121）的约束，该公告要求托管人将数字资产视为资产负债表上的负债。然而，金融行业对这一指导意见的理解仍在不断发展。

Advantages of Private Ownership

私有制的优势

Unlike publicly traded competitors, Fidelity remains a privately held company, with the Johnson family retaining 49% ownership and voting power. O'Reilly believes that this private status gives Fidelity a significant advantage in taking a long-term perspective on sectors like crypto, where many competitors have hesitated to venture.

与公开交易的竞争对手不同，富达仍然是一家私营公司，约翰逊家族保留 49% 的所有权和投票权。奥莱利认为，这种私有地位使富达在从长远角度看待加密货币等行业方面拥有显着优势，而许多竞争对手都在犹豫是否要涉足该领域。

The Bitcoin ETF: A Cornerstone of Fidelity's Crypto Strategy

比特币 ETF：富达加密货币策略的基石

When the SEC approved the first slate of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January, eight of the ten issuers chose Coinbase as their custodian, including BlackRock. Fidelity and VanEck were the only exceptions, with Fidelity opting to use its own custody service.

当 SEC 一月份批准第一批现货比特币 ETF 时，十个发行人中有八个选择了 Coinbase 作为托管人，其中包括贝莱德。富达和 VanEck 是唯一的例外，富达选择使用自己的托管服务。

This decision may seem surprising given Coinbase's current legal entanglements with the SEC. However, even though Fidelity's custody service operates as a separate subsidiary from Fidelity Investments, which issues the Bitcoin ETF, it still represents a challenge to other issuers.

考虑到 Coinbase 目前与 SEC 的法律纠葛，这一决定似乎令人惊讶。然而，尽管富达的托管服务作为发行比特币 ETF 的富达投资的独立子公司运营，但它仍然对其他发行人构成挑战。

"As a firm, we are offering an exchange-traded product (ETP)," explained O'Reilly. "In many cases, you would not want to entrust the assets of your ETP to a competitor."

“作为一家公司，我们提供交易所交易产品 (ETP)，”O'Reilly 解释道。 “在许多情况下，您不想将 ETP 的资产委托给竞争对手。”

Cynthia Lo Bessette, head of Fidelity's ETF team, anticipates that this situation will change as issuers begin to diversify their custody arrangements. "Diversification seems to be on people's minds," she told Fortune.

富达 ETF 团队负责人 Cynthia Lo Bessette 预计，随着发行人开始实现托管安排多元化，这种情况将会改变。 “人们似乎正在考虑多元化，”她告诉《财富》杂志。

Despite not serving as a custodian for other issuers, Fidelity's own ETF has flourished. According to Bloomberg data, its Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund has attracted the second-largest inflows among the new ETFs, trailing only BlackRock's offering.

尽管没有担任其他发行人的托管人，富达自己的 ETF 仍然蓬勃发展。根据彭博社的数据，其 Wise Origin 比特币基金吸引了新 ETF 中第二大资金流入，仅次于贝莱德的产品。

Expanding Offerings and Exploring New Horizons

扩大产品范围并探索新视野

While the Bitcoin ETF remains Fidelity's flagship crypto product, the company is actively expanding its offerings. Fidelity is among seven firms seeking to launch a spot Ether ETF, although analysts predict that these applications will be rejected before the May deadline.

虽然比特币 ETF 仍然是富达的旗舰加密产品，但该公司正在积极扩大其产品范围。富达是寻求推出现货以太 ETF 的七家公司之一，尽管分析师预测这些申请将在 5 月截止日期之前被拒绝。

Nevertheless, Ether represents a significant opportunity for Fidelity. Unlike Bitcoin, which utilizes the energy-intensive proof-of-work consensus mechanism, Ethereum transitioned to proof of stake in 2022, allowing Ether holders to earn a yield by staking their assets.

尽管如此，以太币对富达来说仍然是一个重大机遇。与利用能源密集型工作量证明共识机制的比特币不同，以太坊在 2022 年过渡到权益证明，允许以太币持有者通过抵押资产来赚取收益。

While Fidelity does not currently offer staking services, Bessette confirmed that the company is exploring product iterations that include staking. On March 18, Fidelity submitted an amendment to its ETF application, seeking permission to stake a portion of its assets.

虽然富达目前不提供质押服务，但 Bessette 证实该公司正在探索包括质押在内的产品迭代。 3 月 18 日，富达提交了对其 ETF 申请的修正案，寻求允许抵押其部分资产。

Regulatory uncertainty could still hinder Fidelity's entry into the staking market, as the SEC is likely to deny the ETH ETF applications and has recently filed lawsuits against Coinbase and Kraken for offering staking-as-a-service products.

监管方面的不确定性仍可能阻碍 Fidelity 进入 Stake 市场，因为 SEC 可能会拒绝 ETH ETF 申请，并且最近因 Coinbase 和 Kraken 提供 Stake-as-a-service 产品而对 Coinbase 和 Kraken 提起诉讼。

Dempsey also indicated that Fidelity's digital assets subsidiary aims to launch trading and custody services for other cryptocurrencies. "We did not set out to be a Bitcoin and Ethereum-only shop," he said, although regulatory challenges surrounding the security status of various assets, including Ether, remain obstacles.

Dempsey 还表示，富达数字资产子公司旨在推出其他加密货币的交易和托管服务。 “我们并没有打算成为一家只经营比特币和以太坊的商店，”他说，尽管围绕包括以太币在内的各种资产的安全状态的监管挑战仍然是障碍。

Exploring Tokenization and a Cautious Approach to Regulation

探索代币化和谨慎的监管方法

As competitors like Franklin Templeton and BlackRock begin to tokenize traditional assets such as money market funds, Bessette revealed that Fidelity is investigating the potential of tokenization, though she declined to provide specific examples.

随着富兰克林邓普顿和贝莱德等竞争对手开始将货币市场基金等传统资产代币化，贝塞特透露富达正在研究代币化的潜力，但她拒绝提供具体例子。

While Fidelity's pace of innovation may exceed that of many traditional financial institutions, the company remains somewhere between crypto-native firms like Coinbase and industry stalwarts like Vanguard. This position allows Fidelity to pursue blockchain experimentation while maintaining a cautious approach to regulatory developments.

尽管富达的创新步伐可能超过许多传统金融机构，但该公司仍介于 Coinbase 等加密原生公司和 Vanguard 等行业中坚力量之间。这一立场使富达能够进行区块链实验，同时对监管发展保持谨慎态度。

"In the crypto world, years are almost like decades," O'Reilly observed. "That has really given us an advantage."

“在加密货币世界中，几年几乎就像几十年，”奥莱利观察到。 “这确实给了我们一个优势。”