Fidelity Files Metaverse ETF With SEC, After Spot Bitcoin ETF Rejection

Asset management giant Fidelity Investments has filed another exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the U.S. regulator, this time tied to the metaverse.

Fidelity’s filings come soon after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected its spot Bitcoin ETF, Thursday.

Fidelity, on 27 January, filed a metaverse ETF – the Fidelity Metaverse Index – with an aim to track public companies that “develop, manufacture, distribute, or sell products or services related to establishing and enabling the Metaverse,” the application noted.

The entry of the world’s fourth-largest fund manager, with $8 trillion worth AUM, into the burgeoning metaverse market, will be seen as a further sign of the growing acceptance of the meta-space.

The preliminary prospectus stated that Fidelity would primarily invest in the stocks of companies included in a Fidelity index comprising businesses that are engaged in activities related to “cryptocurrency, blockchain, and digital payments processing.”

Pile of Metaverse ETFs

This isn’t the first ETF tied to metaverse that is waiting for approval from the SEC.

ETF issuer ProShares, which is well-known for launching its Bitcoin Futures ETF in the U.S., filed a new metaverse-focused ETF application with the SEC in December’21.

The index is similar to Fidelity, reflecting the performance of a number of companies offering metaverse-related services. The ‘ProShares Metaverse Theme ETF,’ featured some of the top-rated stocks such as  Apple, Meta, and Nvidia.

In yet another case, Roundhill Investments launched a metaverse ETF in June last year, followed by South Korean asset management firms such as KB Asset Management and NH Amundi Asset Management have listed metaverse-related ETFs, first in the country.

Closely After Spot Bitcoin ETF Rejection

The metaverse ETF filings come the same day the SEC piled Fidelity’s spot Bitcoin ETF among other rejected BTC ETFs.

This is because the U.S. regulator has been citing concerns of fraud, manipulation, and investor protection in the crypto-space over the last few months.

The SEC has been stringent in approving any BTC ETFs that come their way. For instance, last week, the watchdog turned down a spot Bitcoin ETF proposed by First Trust and Skybridge Capital, citing similar reasons.