Fidelity’s crypto custody business records 60% loss in 2023

Crypto custody service Fidelity Digital Assets recorded an almost 60% drop in revenue in 2023, with losses rising to over £7 million.

Fidelity’s crypto custody business, Fidelity Digital Assets, launched in 2018 with the aim of expanding its crypto services and generated revenues of £545,000 (~$695,000) last year, up from £1.34 million in 2022, Financial News reported. It marked a decrease of 59 percent. It cites documents filed by Fidelity with Companies House.

In addition to reduced revenue, operating expenses have also increased by 32% year-on-year to £7.8 million in 2023, largely due to increased staff salaries, the report states. In total, Fidelity Digital Assets suffered losses of £7.1 million in 2023, up nearly £5 million from £2.5 million in 2022.

Addressing the losses, Fidelity said revenue “is projected to grow upward with increased business activity in the United States.”[…] Custody and trading services as additional new customers are expected to join. The decline in revenue is reportedly attributed to a decrease in service level agreement fees.

In early 2023, Fidelity lost crypto chief Chris Tyrer, who had led the company’s crypto efforts as head of Europe since 2019. In late May, Tyrer joined Bullish, a crypto exchange backed by Peter Thiel, as head of strategy.

In mid-May, crypto.news reported that Synnax, an AI-powered financial platform designed for credit analysis and ratings, had hired former Fidelity International head of digital assets Luc Froehlich as its new chief commercial officer to lead the firm’s commercial strategy. operations.