Can I Buy Crypto at Fidelity
Did you know that you can now invest and trade directly in crypto on one of the largest and most popular brokers in the U.S.? Fidelity Investments has recently made a major breakthrough in the brokerage industry by becoming the first broker with a household name to allow investing and trading directly in crypto.
This article contains everything you need to know about trading crypto on Fidelity, including how to buy crypto on Fidelity, crypto fees on Fidelity, and more. We also discuss crypto trading on Webull as an alternative to Fidelity.
What Crypto can you Trade on Fidelity?
To start, Fidelity is offering trading in just Bitcoin and Ethereum. Fidelity’s reasoning for starting with just these two cryptocurrencies is that they are the two biggest by market cap, and both have some of the heaviest trading volumes in the crypto markets. Fidelity says that they are evaluating additional cryptocurrencies to add over time.
Fidelity Crypto Eligibility
Customers in most states are eligible for Fidelity crypto. Fidelity crypto accounts and crypto trading are currently only available through Fidelity’s mobile app on Android and IOS, so you must have the Fidelity app on your phone to be eligible. Also, you must have either a new or existing Fidelity brokerage account or a Fidelity cash management account that you will use to fund your crypto account.
Fidelity Crypto Early-Access List
Fidelity is currently working on its official crypto trading launch. However, both new and existing customers can sign up for its crypto early-access list (essentially, Fidelity’s crypto beta program). By signing up for the early-access list, you reserve yourself a spot to open a Fidelity crypto account and get access to crypto trading ahead of the general public.
You can sign up for the crypto early-access list through Fidelity’s website. Once you sign up, you will receive an email confirmation that you are on the list. Once it is your turn to open your crypto account, Fidelity will send you another email to notify you.
How to Open a Fidelity Crypto Account
Once you receive the email from Fidelity that you can open your crypto account, you will need to open the email on your phone. When you are ready to open your crypto account, click the orange “Open an account” button in the email. Then, you should automatically be brought into the Fidelity app on your phone.
On the first Fidelity crypto screen in the Fidelity app, click the green “Let’s go” button at the bottom. Next, click the green “Get started” button at the bottom of the following screen. Then, you will select the dedicated Fidelity account that you will use to fund your crypto account from the list of your eligible Fidelity accounts.
On the next screen, you should see your crypto account number, and your account status should show as “Open”. Then, on the same screen, click the green “Transfer your money” button at the bottom. Lastly, choose how much money you want to transfer into your crypto account and click submit. Your crypto account should show as funded at this point, and you can start trading crypto. Your Fidelity crypto account will appear on your list of accounts with all your other Fidelity accounts.
How to Buy Crypto on Fidelity
To buy crypto, you first need to search for Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) in the “Search or get a quote” section of the Fidelity app. Once on the quote screen for either, simply press the green “Buy” button at the bottom of the screen. You can then enter your order for the amount you want to purchase. Once you review and submit your order, you are brought to an order confirmation screen that shows your order details.
Fidelity Crypto Minimums & Fees
No minimum amounts are required to open a Fidelity crypto account, and Fidelity doesn’t charge any minimum or maintenance fees for the account. You can buy crypto on Fidelity for as little as a $1 minimum order. Fidelity currently offers the ability to trade crypto in dollar or share amounts. You can choose between market and limit orders for crypto trades.
Fidelity doesn’t charge any commissions for crypto trades. However, they incorporate a 1% spread into the execution price of your crypto trades. For example, say, Bitcoin is currently trading at $20,000. If you buy 1 BTC at this price, you will have to pay 1% more than $20,000, meaning your purchase execution price would be $20,200. Similarly, if you own 1 BTC that you want to sell at this price, your sell execution price would be $19,800 — 1% less than $20,000.
Fidelity Crypto Transfers
At the time of this writing, Fidelity doesn’t allow you to send or receive crypto transfers. However, it’s probably a safe bet to say that Fidelity will eventually allow crypto transfers in the future to compete with other brokers that currently offer both crypto trading and crypto transfers. Consequently, any crypto you purchase on Fidelity can only be removed by selling it and transferring the cash from the sale.
Fidelity Crypto Stocks & ETFs
In addition to now being able to trade directly in crypto, you can also trade crypto stocks and ETFs on Fidelity. You can trade crypto stocks and ETFs commission-free on Fidelity’s website and app. One of the advantages of trading crypto stocks and ETFs on Fidelity versus some other brokers is that Fidelity allows you to trade on the OTC markets in the U.S. and internationally on securities’ home exchanges.
Crypto on Webull
Webull also allows trading and investing directly in cryptocurrencies. Similarly to Fidelity, you can trade crypto on Webull with only a $1 minimum purchase order required, with no crypto account fees or minimums, and with dollar or share amounts. Also, similarly to Fidelity, Webull doesn’t charge any commissions for crypto trades but instead charges a 1% spread on the execution prices of crypto trades. Unfortunately, you can’t transfer crypto into or out of your Webull account, like you can’t on Fidelity either.
One of the main differences between trading crypto on Webull versus on Fidelity is that
Webull
offers trading in over 40 different cryptocurrencies compared to Fidelity’s two cryptocurrencies. Another difference is that in addition to allowing market and limit orders for crypto trades, Webull also allows stop limit orders.
Webull Crypto Stocks & ETFs
You can trade crypto stocks and ETFs on Webull commission-free, the same as you can on Fidelity. However, two main differences between trading crypto stocks and ETFs on Webull versus on Fidelity are that Webull only allows trading in a limited number of crypto stocks on the U.S. OTC markets compared to virtually an unlimited amount allowed on Fidelity, and Webull doesn’t allow international trading while Fidelity does.
Learn more about Webull cryptocurrencies trading.
Webull Promotion
Open WeBull Account
Updated on 3/3/2023.
Paul Johnson is a Licensed Stockbroker with 7+ years of experience in the financial services industry. Paul enjoys teaching about investing and writing about financial topics. He is a husband and father of twin boys.
|