Fidelity and trust

FDAS, the crypto arm of Fidelity Investments (FMR), has applied to the New York Department of Financial Services to become a New York Trust. The trust license is “more expansive” than the well-known BitLicense, and would allow FDAS to operate a broader swath of services in financial markets, such as financial advice.

Many financial entities—including Facebook and Coinbase—are in the race to achieving such statuses. Their search for competitive advantage also includes patent investment in the Cryptocurrency sector. For example, Fidelity has a growing patent portfolio that focuses on payment systems for cryptocurrency. State licenses will give companies more financial freedom to operate, which will in turn encourage increased patent activity.