Fidelity Investments Is Mining for Cryptocurrency

Investing in Crypto

Investment and financial institutions are beginning to take cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies more seriously. Among them is Fidelity Investments, which manages $2.3 trillion in assets. Fidelity, while exploring the potential of bitcoin and dipping their toes into the blockchain waters, has recently begun a cryptocurrency mining program that is already generating a profit.

At the 2017 Consensus conference, Fidelity's CEO Abigail Johnson said, "We set up a small bitcoin and ethereum mining operation…that miraculously now is actually making a lot of money." The company started mining to learn more about the process.

Crypto mining, thankfully, doesn't involve any pickaxes or collapsible underground tunnels. Instead, it is a process in which crypto transactions are verified and added to the blockchain — or public ledger. This process also allows for the creation of new bitcoin.

Financial Mining

The applications of blockchain technologies, and specifically cryptocurrencies, extend well beyond financial transactions. As more (and larger) companies show interest and seriously invest in a blockchain-based future, these technologies will grow in potential. Mining is becoming increasingly commonplace. Some individuals are trying to turn a profit with it, but right now it's only a realistic moneymaking method (which is debated) for large institutions.

Fidelity has set the stage as a massive firm confident in venturing into crypto mining, so perhaps blockchain technologies will continue to be taken more seriously and adopted by a greater number of bigger organizations. Johnson will hopefully pave the way for others with a large presence to get involved. She has mined about 200,000 satoshis so far, according to a report in The Financial Times, and by the looks of it, she and Fidelity will continue to push forward as major supporters of blockchain technologies and cryptocurrency mining.

Disclosure: Several members of the Futurism team, including the editors of this piece, are personal investors in a number of cryptocurrency markets. Their personal investment perspectives have no impact on editorial content.