American multinational financial services firm Fidelity Investments has announced its intention to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) focused on Ethereum’s ether (ETH). This move, revealed in a recent Friday filing, signifies a substantial step in the company’s increasing involvement in the cryptocurrency sector.
Fidelity Investments is a major American financial services corporation — one of the largest asset managers in the world. Founded in 1946, it is a privately held company and remains largely owned by the Johnson family. Fidelity is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and is known for its wide range of financial products and services, including mutual funds, pension management, brokerage services, and a variety of other investment and wealth management solutions.
Fidelity serves a diverse set of clients, from individual investors to large institutions. It’s particularly well-known for its mutual funds, but it also operates a brokerage firm, offering fund distribution and investment advice, retirement services, wealth management, securities execution and clearance, and life insurance.
The proposed ETF, named the Fidelity Ethereum Fund, is set to be listed by an exchange operated by Cboe Global Markets. The filing by Cboe Global Markets brought to light the existence of this new financial product. However, the launch of the ETF hinges on the approval of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is also reviewing a similar proposal from Fidelity’s rival, BlackRock, revealed earlier this month.
This initiative by Fidelity is part of a broader trend among financial giants to integrate cryptocurrencies into their offerings. Both Fidelity and BlackRock are not only focusing on Ethereum but are also looking to create ETFs for Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. These proposed bitcoin ETFs are also awaiting the SEC’s review and approval.
Featured Image via Pixabay
