U.S. megafund Fidelity targets Asian family offices wanting Bitcoin

US-based Fidelity Investments, a trillion-dollar fund manager with a deep interest in the cryptocurrency market, is targeting rich Asian investors by way of a new partnership with a fund in Singapore, financial publication Bloomberg reported Thursday.

Stack, the Singapore fund that provides access to crypto products and similar services, will cater to the high demand for cryptocurrencies from Asian family offices and high-net-worth individuals.

Firms like MicroStrategy and Square have picked up over $425 million and $50 million respectively in 2020, while hedge fund managers like Paul Tudor Jones have similarly turned to Bitcoin to protect against inflation as well.

Family offices are coming for a pie of that as well.

Reports suggest that while US investors are more like to choose investments with a lower risk profile, Asian investors show a greater affinity to take higher risks, making cryptocurrencies a natural fit.

"There is a critical need for platforms which have a deep understanding of what local and regional investors are looking for" that "Has historically been lacking in the digital asset space."

The partnership with Stack comes months after Fidelity launched its passively-managed Bitcoin fund in August.

The latter started its Fidelity Digital Assets division in late 2018, with CEO Abigail Johnson declaring the goal was to boost accessibility for investors.

Bitcoin has returned over 300% to investors since March 2020, while DeFi projects like Yearn Finance have made gains of over 10,000%.

Just last week, US payment processor PayPal announced it would allow investors to purchase cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum via its platform - rolling out the service to an estimated 350 million users this week.