Despite many people’s reluctance to invest in crypto, there are just as many others who have been looking for an opportunity to include it in their portfolio.
Companies that offer financial services are not quick to add crypto to their offers because of its risks.
However, based on the market situation and future projections, a few financial companies think it’s the perfect time to make crypto more readily available.
On that note, here are some steps Fidelity Investments and Mastercard have taken to make buying crypto much easier.
Mastercard’s Crypto Accessibility Plan
Mastercard, one of the largest payments networks globally, has an engagement program known as Start Path. This program seeks to aid tech startups across the globe on their scaling journey.
The most recent cohort of startups was selected primarily to promote the accessibility of cryptocurrency, digital assets, and the technology behind it overall.
The startups include Colombia-based Stable, U.S-based Uptop, Loot Bolt, Qudrata, Singapore-based Digital Treasures Center, Abu Dhabi-based Fasset, and the Dubai-based Take Back the Mic (TBTM) Studios.
Mastercard has a vision of how tech can revolutionize the financial system’s infrastructure and how the use of crypto can graduate to something that can be done easily and safely.
To achieve this, they have a five-phase plan in motion including crypto cards, services for crypto, payments, crypto on the Mastercard’s network, Metaverse, and non-fungible tokens.
Mastercard in partnership with Paxos Trust Company has begun executing its plan by providing a program known as Crypto Source.
Crypto Source is a program that enables financial institutions to offer customers crypto trading and similar services.
To achieve this Paxos Trust Company, one of the best blockchain infrastructure platforms, will provide the trading assets and custody services, while Mastercard will use its technology to incorporate the activities into the bank’s interface.
This aims to make people more confident in investing in crypto since their banks offer it.
Fidelity Introduces 401(k) Bitcoin, Fund
Fidelity Investments’ interest in cryptocurrency began in 2014, and since then, they have performed adequate research and slowly incorporated digital assets into their services.
Its latest stride in this regard is offering a bitcoin fund to workers. Fidelity Investments made provisions for this by including a bitcoin account in their conventional stock and bonds offers.
This means that employers sponsoring 401(k) plans can choose to offer bitcoin funds to their employees, letting them allocate a portion of their savings to bitcoin.
The maximum permissible percentage of balance allowed in the bitcoin fund is 20% of a worker’s balance, and the employer can lower this.
So, if you have been craving the addition of crypto to your retirement plan, it is now a feasible option. However, it depends on whether your employer views it as a good addition, and many of them may decide to tread with caution since they will be responsible for the outcome.
Other Ways to Invest in Cryptocurrencies
Besides Fidelity Investment’s bitcoin retirement savings plan, and Mastercard’s crypto trading, there are several other ways you can invest in cryptocurrencies.
If you think being directly involved in crypto is too much of a hassle, know that you can buy cryptocurrency through SoFi to invest.
Also, you can secure investments with companies that support crypto. Many options are available to you ranging from full to partial crypto companies, including eToro and PayPal.
Another way to invest in crypto is to mine or validate in a crypto network. This way, you get to earn extra cryptocurrencies and get to decide whether to hold or trade.
