Fidelity’s Crypto-Focused Business Plan Tech Hiring Spree

The planned expansion in Fidelity Digital Assets follows Fidelity Investments in April that it would Allow retirement savers to put bitcoin in their 401(k) accounts Later this year, the first major retirement-planning provider to do so.

In Fidelity Digital Assets, 2018. Founded inMr. Jessop said the technology will help build the infrastructure to support custody and trading services for Haier Ether, the digital currency on the Ethereum network. The platform was created to handle the storage, security and trading of bitcoins.

The team will migrate platform data and applications to the cloud to support faster transactions and 24-hour business support and ensure the platform continues to provide institutional-grade security, Mr. Jessop said. In addition, the team will work on compliance and tax-reporting tools, he said.

Despite market turmoil, a . including Cryptocurrency prices have fallen drastically in recent weeksFidelity Digital Assets said it plans to continue investing in the technology that supports crypto trading.

“We are trying not to be bearish and focus on some long-term indicators,” such as customer demand, Mr. Jessop said. “We’re trying to build the infrastructure for the future because we measure success over years and decades, not weeks and months.”

Mr. Jessop joined Fidelity in January 2018 after a nine-month stint President of Blockchain Firm Chen Inc. Prior to Chen, he spent 17 years in various senior positions

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The impact of the drop in crypto prices on Fidelity Digital Assets has been minimal, Mr. Jessop said, although he acknowledged that new customer acquisition has slowed.

According to Terrence Dempsey, Head of Supporting Products, Fidelity Digital Assets has nearly 400 clients, including registered investment advisors, hedge funds and asset managers.

The demand for engineers and developers working on blockchain and cryptocurrency initiatives continues to grow regardless of market pressure, said Dylan Gomez, Director of Financial Services Recruitment Selby Jennings and Head of Software Engineering. “There is definitely more competition and compensation has been driven in,” he said.

According to information-technology trade group CompTIA, between January 1 and May 24, advertisements for positions requiring crypto skills had quadrupled from the period a year earlier.