Trading Cryptocurrencies at Fidelity
Points to know:
• Fidelity offers direct trading in three cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.
• It’s also possible to invest in crypto ETFs with a brokerage account at Fidelity.
• Robinhood has a larger list of digital coins than Fidelity.
If you want to tap into the world of cryptocurrencies, Fidelity Investments is worth considering. The brokerage firm offers direct and indirect methods to trade cryptos.
Getting Ready for Crypto at Fidelity
Fidelity customers can trade Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum in their crypto brokerage accounts. There are no other coins available, and we do emphasize “crypto brokerage accounts.” A discrete crypto account must be opened at Fidelity to trade digital currencies.
To open the crypto account, Fidelity requires a securities brokerage account as well. It’s possible to open both at the same time. However it’s done, the crypto account can be opened online in just a few minutes.
If you don’t need direct investments in the coins themselves, Fidelity offers indirect trading via crypto ETFs. These products can be traded in a securities brokerage account, which avoids the need for the crypto account.
Trading Coins at Fidelity
A good place to begin a crypto journey at Fidelity is on the broker’s mobile app. Log in and tap on the Discover icon in the bottom-right corner. On the Discover page, scroll down to the Collections section to find the Crypto button. Tap on this and you’ll get the crypto hub.
On the crypto hub, you’ll find a list of news articles related to the world of digital currencies. There’s also a pre-installed watchlist of two cryptos Fidelity offers trading in: Bitcoin and Ethereum. Litecoin can also be traded at Fidelity, although it’s not on this list (just type in LTC/USD in the search field to pull up its profile).
Crypto profiles on the Fidelity app have a simple chart at the top with a maximum of one year of price history. Advanced charts with tools are not available for cryptocurrencies.
Further down the profile, Fidelity adds a lot of trade details, such as 24-hour volume, market cap, and the bid-ask spread. There is a buy button that leads to a trade ticket with market and limit orders.
Besides the mobile app, Fidelity’s website can also be used to trade cryptocurrencies. Its desktop platform Active Trader Pro does not have this capability.
Researching Crypto ETFs at Fidelity
If three coins aren’t enough for you, Fidelity has a much longer list of crypto ETFs that can be traded; these securities can also be shorted, which is an advantage over the coins.
To find crypto ETFs at Fidelity, head to the website and launch the fund screener (found under the News & Research tab in the main menu) and specify Alternative as the asset class. Some of the results will be non-crypto funds, but many will hold cryptocurrencies. One example we found was the WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund with ticker symbol BTCW.
Fidelity’s profile for BTCW shows a gross expense ratio of 25 basis points plus a fee waiver for the same amount, resulting in a net expense ratio of zero. The only holding is Bitcoin, which amounts to $411 million worth. Thus, the fund is below average in size.
How to Buy Bitcoin of Fidelity
A crypto ETF can be traded on any of the three software platforms at Fidelity (website, mobile app, or desktop program). All three systems have watchlists, so adding an ETF to a list is a quick way to access the fund later.
A crypto ETF trades the same way that any other ETF trades. Thus, there are many order types that can be used. Examples include trailing, conditional, OCO, and OTOCO.
Pricing Schedule
There are no commissions at Fidelity on trades of ETFs or cryptocurrencies. Both do have spreads
on either trade side, and these spreads are the cost of trading. ETF spreads fluctuate based on
market conditions. For cryptocurrencies, Fidelity always includes a spread of 1% on either side.
Crypto and securities accounts have no fees and no minimums.
Robinhood as a Backup
If you want more than three coins to trade, Robinhood is worth considering. Besides Ethereum,
Bitcoin, and Litecoin, Robinhood has 19 that
can be traded:
- Aave (AAVE)
- Avalanche (AVAX)
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
- BONK (BONK)
- Cardano (ADA)
- Chainlink (LINK)
- Compound (COMP)
- Dogecoin (DOGE)
- Dogwifhat (WIF)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Ethereum Classic (ETC)
- Litecoin (LTC)
- Pepe (PEPE)
- Shiba Inu (SHIB)
- Solana (SOL)
- Steller Lumens (XLM)
- Tezos (XTZ)
- Trump (TRUMP)
- Uniswap (UNI)
- USDC (USDC)
- XRP (XRP)
To find these and others, type in crypto in the search bar on the website or mobile app and select the button for Tradable Crypto that appears in the drop-down list of choices.
When you get the list, simply tap or click on an entry to pull up the coin’s profile. From there, you can submit a trade.
Like Fidelity, Robinhood also has crypto ETFs. To find these, type in crypto again in the search field; this time, select the button for Crypto Commodity ETPs.
Also like Fidelity, Robinhood imposes zero trading fees on transactions of ETFs or cryptocurrencies. Unlike Fidelity, Robinhood has a low spread on coin trades; it is around 0.63% per side, depending on the coin.
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Fidelity Crypto Review
Fidelity is a good place to start a journey in crypto trading. Robinhood offers a little more at lower cost.
Updated on 2/24/2025.
Chad Morris is a financial writer with more than 20 years experience
as both an English teacher and an avid trader. When he isn’t writing
expert content for Brokerage-Review.com, Chad can usually be found
managing his portfolio or building a new home computer.
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