Fidelity Digital Assets has agreed to pay $500,000 to settle a California investigation into limits placed on crypto withdrawals between November 2022 and April 2025. California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the settlement on October 16.
During the period in question, California retail customers could buy and sell cryptocurrency on Fidelity's platform but could not transfer it directly to outside wallets. Fidelity received regulatory permission to enable transfers in April 2025, and the feature became available to all California customers by June 2025.
Settlement Terms
The $500,000 payment goes to the attorney general's office to cover investigation costs. The agreement does not establish a customer compensation fund.
Under the settlement, Fidelity must provide California customers with reasonable written notice before discontinuing crypto transfer services to retail customers. The company retains the right to restrict or block individual transfers to protect its platform or account holders.
Crypto IRA Accounts Excluded
Tax-advantaged retirement accounts, including individual retirement accounts (IRAs), are excluded from the transfer requirements. Fidelity plans to launch Crypto IRA accounts in California, though no launch date has been specified. The product currently remains unavailable in California and Oregon.
In states where Fidelity's Crypto IRA is offered, customers cannot transfer cryptocurrency directly from the account. Instead, they can move funds from the account's U.S. dollar position to a linked Fidelity brokerage IRA.
Fidelity denies any wrongdoing and did not admit to violating any law as part of the settlement.
