The ‘Fidelity Mafia’ Behind Big Crypto

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technology companies. The group includes Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at crypto financial-services firm Galaxy Digital; Juri Bulovic, head of mining at bitcoin miner Foundry; Matt Walsh, founding partner at crypto venture firm Castle Island Ventures, and more than a dozen others. “There are a lot of us that have worked on crypto for so long because Fidelity has worked on crypto much longer than any other traditional financial firm," said Thorn, who set up a Telegram chat group with former colleagues.

Championed by Chief Executive Abby Johnson, Fidelity’s crypto initiative began by trading and storing bitcoin for big investors such as hedge funds. Over the following years, it made crypto more accessible for small investors as well. Companies can include bitcoin in the Fidelity retirement plans they offer their employees, and Fidelity gives the majority of its 43 million customers the option to trade bitcoin and ether.

“It wasn’t like we were learning about this crazy crypto thing with kid gloves on because we were traditional," said Thorn. “We took a huge step into it, and that made Fidelity an early magnet for talent." Thorn started out as an entry-level analyst in Fidelity’s legal department in 2009. An early bitcoin believer, he volunteered to help with Fidelity’s first crypto experiments, winning the nickname “Bitcoin Viking" from Johnson.

He eventually co-managed a Fidelity-affiliated crypto venture firm. Other former employees also say Johnson’s early commitment to bitcoin drew them to Fidelity. She gave a rare vote of confidence to bitcoin at a conference in 2017 when she urged making the token more accessible for individuals and institutions, according to Walsh, who joined Fidelity out of business school