Investment Giant Fidelity Offers New Metaverse and Crypto Payments ETFs

Fidelity Investments, which has over $4.2 trillion in assets under management, is launching 2 new funds focused on the metaverse and cryptocurrencies, according to a press release on Tuesday.

The financial giant announced the launch of ​​the Fidelity Crypto Industry and Digital Payments ETF (FDIG) and the Fidelity Metaverse ETF (FMET). Plus, the firm announced five new non-crypto related products, including the Fidelity Sustainable Core Plus Bond Fund (FIAEX), Fidelity Sustainable Core Plus Bond ETF (FSBD), Fidelity Sustainable Low Duration Bond Fund (FAPGX), Fidelity Sustainable Low Duration Bond ETF (FSLD), and Fidelity Sustainable Intermediate Municipal Income Fund (FSIKX).

The new ETFs aim to expand Fidelity’s grip on the crypto and metaverse industries, according to the announcement. The Fidelity Crypto Industry and Digital Payments ETF doesn’t offer direct exposure to any particular crypto asset, but gives the opportunity to invest in companies that support the digital asset ecosystem “including those involved in crypto mining and trading, blockchain technology, and digital payments processing.”

Fidelity’s Metaverse ETF aims to give investors access to “the evolution and future of the internet” with investments in companies involved in building out the metaverse, including “computing hardware and components, digital infrastructure, design and engineering software, gaming technology and software, web development and content services, and smartphone and wearable technology​.”

“Leveraging Fidelity’s decades of investment expertise, we are focused on growing our broad product lineup with innovative strategies that offer choice, value and new opportunities to investors,” said Greg Friedman, Fidelity’s Head of ETF Management and Strategy. “We continue to see demand, particularly from young investors, for access to the rapidly growing industries in the digital ecosystem, and these two thematic ETFs offer investors exposure in a familiar investment vehicle.”

No specific cryptocurrencies or products were mentioned in the announcement.

Fidelity, like many other giants of the financial services of the industry, has publicly had their finger on the pulse of the crypto space for some time.

Jurien Timmer, director of global macro at the company, has repeatedly given a bullish prognosis for Bitcoin, suggesting that it’s in the middle of a large “S” curve, similar to what Apple products went through in previous decades.

"What matters most is where the demand curve is going, and the answer continues to be 'up and to the right,' he said in a thread earlier this year.

"Below we see that the number of Bitcoin addresses (with a value of more than zero) continues to move higher, following a simple power regression curve."

"Below is a side-by-side comparison of Apple and Bitcoin. Different animals to be sure, but they follow a similar path as dictated by their network growth."