BitcoinBTC, ethereum and other major cryptocurrencies are currently trading far below their all-time highs despite rocketing into 2023.
The bitcoin price has added around 70% since the beginning of the year as traders brace for a potential Federal Reserve u-turn.
Amid the brutal crypto winter that’s erased almost $2 trillion of value from the market, two of the world’s largest financial institutions with a combined $14 trillion in assets under management—Fidelity and BlackRockBLK—are quietly expanding into the world of bitcoin, ethereum and cryptocurrency.
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“At BlackRock we continue to explore the digital assets ecosystem, especially areas most relevant to our clients such as permissioned blockchains and tokenization of stocks and bonds,” Larry Fink, the chief executive of the world’s largest asset manager wrote in his annual letter to shareholders, adding “very interesting developments are happening in the digital asset space.”
Last year, Fink predicted crypto’s blockchain technology will usher in “the next generation for markets” after signing a major deal with bitcoin and crypto exchange Coinbase.
Meanwhile, Fidelity Investments has now opened up its crypto trading platform to its 37 million users to buy and sell bitcoin and ethereum commission-free, it was first reported by The Block.
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The bitcoin and crypto market has traditionally moved cyclically, surging higher before crashing and then soaring higher again. Some bitcoin, ethereum and crypto market watchers are pointing to bitcoin’s next halving, when the flow of new bitcoin being created will be cut by half, as a potential catalyst for the next bitcoin price bull run.
“We’re about a year away from bitcoin’s next halving,” Alex Thorn, Galaxy’s head of research, said in emailed comments. “Historically, these have been bullish events for the digital asset.”
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