Fidelity offers BTC and ETH trading without fees; Ripple gained more supporters in the SEC lawsuit; Mastercard added 7 startups to its blockchain accelerator.
Fidelity offers commission-free BTC and ETH trading to investors
Fidelity Investments is expanding individual access to commission-free cryptocurrency trading services in line with the growing mainstream interest in digital assets.
According to CNBC, Fidelity’s new crypto offering will be supported by its subsidiary, Fidelity Digital Assets. The new Fidelity Crypto service will allow retail investors to buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum with minimal fees.
Although Fidelity has not specified the launch date for the new offering, it has opened an early-access waiting list for users. The brokerage house said that commission-free crypto trading is a target for individual investors, as the majority of its clients are already investing in digital assets.
Fidelity Digital expanded its institutional offerings amid the bear market by recently launching Ethereum custody and trading services to its high-net-worth clients.
Fidelity has been a prominent institutional advocate of Bitcoin and digital assets, describing BTC as a superior form of money. Although most of the asset manager’s efforts are focused on institutional investors, rumors about an individual service have been around for a while.
In the case of Ripple versus the SEC, the number of Ripple supporters has reached 12
Fintech firm Ripple continues to gain more supporters from the crypto and financial industry in the ongoing legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse shared a post on Twitter on November 4, announcing that the total number of companies, developers, exchanges, associations, and investors officially supporting them has reached 12.
On November 3, the SEC submitted a motion to extend the submission date for response documents to November 30. The SEC has requested Judge Analisa Torres to order any additional amicus briefing to be filed by November 11.
Supporters who have already submitted “court-friendly” documents include Coinbase, the Chamber of Digital Commerce, the Crypto Innovation Council, Blockchain Association, Valhil Capital, I-Remit, Spend The Bits, Tapjets, and Investor Choice Advocates Network (ICAN).
The SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple two years ago accusing the latter of organizing an unregulated sale of securities, by which the regulator means XRP. Nonetheless, the support for Ripple continues to grow as its case strengthens. Garlinghouse previously stated that Ripple could reach a settlement with the SEC, provided that XRP is not classified as a security.
Mastercard has added 7 more blockchain startups to its crypto accelerator program
Global payments giant Mastercard continues to support crypto and blockchain startups as part of its fintech acceleration program Mastercard Start Path. The company announced on November 3 that it had selected seven new industry initiatives.
The program works with Web3-focused online payment system provider Loot Bolt, privacy startup Quadrata, blockchain-based media fintech project Take Back the Mic, and brand-focused platform Uptop, among others.
Launched in 2014, Mastercard Start Path is a six-month acceleration program designed to help startups expand and commercialize their products and services.