Fidelity Ups Digital Asset Hiring as Crypto Firms Struggle

Fidelity Investments will hire 100 more workers for its digital assets operations as it expands on its efforts to lure talent away from struggling crypto firms.

A company representative told Bloomberg News that the new round of hiring will bring the headcount of Fidelity’s digital asset business to about 500 by the end of the first quarter of 2023. The division had previously doubled its staff since May, the Sunday (Oct. 23) report from Bloomberg said.

The new employees are in Fidelity Digital Assets’ client services, operations, technology, business development, marketing, and compliance departments, spread across a number of cities,  including Boston, New York, London, and Dublin.

Read more: Will IRA-Friendly ETFs Become a Reality?

Last month, PYMNTS reported that Fidelity was moving ahead with plans to offer the option to invest in cryptocurrency on some employer-sponsored retirement plans, despite opposition from U.S. legislators and the Department of Labor, which oversees 401(k) plans.

The Fidelity Digital Asset Accounts will give employers the option to allow participants to invest as much as 20% of their accounts in bitcoin.

The company is beefing up its crypto staff at a time when the industry is seeing vast amounts of layoffs, opening the door for opportunities at more traditional financial institutions.

Learn more: Crypto.com Has Cut 30%-40% of Staff

PYMNTS noted earlier this month that difficult market conditions had caused cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com to make substantial job cuts while also ending some brand partnerships. The company reportedly shrank its headcount by more than 2,000 — or 30% to 40% of the staff.

Crypto.com had previously announced it was cutting 260 positions or 5% of its staff.

In June, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced the elimination of 1,100 jobs — or about 18% of its workforce — as the Nasdaq-listed firm’s stock price dropped along with the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Crypto exchange Gemini cut 10% of its workforce around the same time.