The undeniable growth of the blockchain crypto industry has been tempting enough to invite even the most popular TradFi firms to DeFi. Recent months have witnessed many such examples, including “the sage of Omaha” Warren Buffet, who invested in a South American crypto bank. However, DeFi’s stride among these firms does not seem to stop anytime soon. Fidelity Investments has become the recent addition to this list, with two new ETFs, set for launching.
Fidelity Investments is one of the largest and most esteemed financial services firms globally. As per the latest reports, the firm currently administers assets worth more than $11 billion. The report from the firm earlier this week stated its intentions to explore the possibilities of DeFi, like cryptos and metaverse. Fidelity will launch two new Exchange Traded Funds to inaugurate this new journey of the firm. However, they will not have any direct ties to the crypto market but to the firms and startups that operate in DeFi.
The first among the two ETFs is Fidelity Crypto Industry and Digital Payments ETF (FDIG). The FDIF is created as a tool for investors to explore the crypto ecosystem from TradFi. Through this fund, one can invest directly into the firms that support the growth of this digital ecosystem. Firms include those that deal with crypto trading, mining, payment processing, blockchain development, etc. As informed above, FDIG ETF will not give direct exposure to the tokens in the market.
Fidelity Metaverse ETF or FMET is the second of the two products planned by Fidelity. The ETF is dedicated exclusively to projects that have established their business in the metaverse. FMET will be a gateway from TradFi to investing in projects that, in the words of Fidelity, “develop, manufacture, distribute, or sell products or services related to establishing and enabling the metaverse.” This comprehensive definition includes computational hardware, gaming services, digital infrastructure management, designing, blockchain engineering, web development, content creation, and innovative gadgets and wearables.
These ETFs will allow users to explore the different avenues of DeFi and blockchain from TradFi. The new Fidelity products will hit the market on April 21, and users can get them commission-free from the firm’s online brokerage platform. Fidelity’s portfolio currently comprises 51 ETFs, including the two recent ones. Greg Friedman, the Head of ETF Management at Fidelity, believes that these two thematic ETFs will bring exposure to the digital ecosystem from a field that is family to the users.
