Fidelity seeks approval for 2 more crypto-metaverse ETFs

Fidelity Investments appeared undeterred by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s, or SEC’s, rejection of its Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) on Thursday. Following the setback, the company filed two more prospectuses involving crypto-metaverse ETFs for regulatory approval. The proposals are for the Fidelity Crypto Industry and Digital Payments ETF and the Fidelity Metaverse ETF, respectively. In rejecting the Wise Origin Bitcoin ETF, the SEC cited the exchange listing the ETF, the Cboe BZX, for not having a proper “surveillance-sharing agreement with markets trading” to prevent fraud and protect investor interests.

However, neither of the two new ETF applications will have any exposure to digital assets. Instead, they seek to gain exposure to stocks of cryptocurrency and metaverse companies operating in the space. Additionally, the constituent companies must generate substantial revenue for their shares to be added to the fund.

For the Fidelity Metaverse ETF, sectors under consideration are computing hardware and components, digital infrastructure, design, engineering software, gaming technology, web/content developers and smartphone and wearable technology. As for the Crypto Industry and Digital Payments ETF, it will invest in companies operating in cryptocurrency mining, cryptocurrency trading, crypto exchanges, blockchain tech firms, and digital payments processors. In total, there are over 40 digital currency ETFs from a variety of financial entities awaiting a decision from the SEC. The prior month, Fidelity officially gained regulatory approval in Canada to launch a Bitcoin ETF and a Bitcoin Mutual Fund.