If you ask someone to describe Fidelity Investments, they will probably use words like “big, boring, and safe.” That’s an accurate description of the Boston-based financial giant, which manages more than $4 trillion and is overseen by CEO Abby Johnson, granddaughter of Fidelity’s founder. Johnson is a steady hand who has kept the firm free of drama, which is why it’s surprising to realize she has also been one of crypto’s biggest champions for a decade.
This occurred to me while reading a WSJ profile of the self-described “Fidelity mafia”—a group of crypto executives who got their start at the asset manager. Some went on to take senior roles at firms like Galaxy Digital and mining giant Foundry, while another is a founding partner at VC firm Castle Island Ventures. They owe their current positions in part to Fidelity’s blue-chip name, but also to the experience they gained as a result of Johnson’s decision to lean into Bitcoin back in 2014—a time when traditional finance wanted nothing to do with crypto.
