Fidelity CEO sees Bitcoins in the future scenario

Abigail Johnson, chair and CEO of Fidelity Investments, went public with her enthusiasm for blockchain technology, bitcoin, ethereum and what the future holds for both open-source, public blockchains and more private alternatives, during Coinbase, a bitcoin and blockchain conference held in New York City.

In her talk, Johnson discussed the "future scenario" where blockchain technologies have thrived, remarking that she thinks this has a "reasonable chance" of coming to pass despite the relative newness of the technology.

Johnson acknowledged upfront that it was an unusual appearance for the head of the Boston investment giant. “Some of you might be wondering why I’m here today,” she said. “I can tell you plenty of my colleagues back in Boston are asking the same question.”

"This transformation could complement lots of other innovative areas that we see emerging – including the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence. These platforms shouldn't develop in a vacuum," she said.

In addition she highlighted the Policy problem. She pointed to the rapid pace of innovation in the blockchain ecosystem and said that it was "outpacing" regulators' ability to keep up with the technology. This might lead to a situation in which regulators end up without a "mental model" of how to understand or regulate the technology. "It will cause some growing pains," Johnson said. She counseled an "open dialog" with regulators to ensure that consumer interests are protected and blockchain reaches its true potential. 

Johnson also revealed information about her company's partners on its journey, naming blockchain startup Axoni, investment firm Boost VC and university initiatives based out of MIT, University College London and Cornell.

It turns out Fidelity Labs, its internal R&D division, has a team dedicated to working on bitcoin and the technology that makes it work. So-called blockchain technology is about sharing electronic data. It could change the way billions of financial transactions are handled, with uses such as settling securities faster and cheaper, with less human intervention.

Fidelity also has allowed customers to contribute bitcoin to their charitable giving accounts, Johnson said, using an intermediary later to convert the currency into dollars. Clients have donated $8 million worth so far, she said to applause at the Consensus 2017 conference.

The Consensus event, hosted by Coindesk, a publishing group, comes as the price of bitcoin has rocketed to a record high, changing hands on Monday at over $2,110.

Bitcoin is up about 135 per cent against the US dollar this year, making it easily the world’s best-performing currency. The nearest rivals are the Icelandic krona (up 16 per cent), the Mexican peso and the Polish zloty (both up 13 per cent).