Fidelity launches Ethereum Index Fund, Bitwise offers Metaverse ETF

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(Kitco News) – Institutions continue to ramp up their cryptocurrency offerings as global regulators increasingly move towards establishing a working framework for dealing with the nascent asset class as adoption treks higher. 

Most recently, Fidelity Investments has launched a new Ethereum Index Fund that will provide its clients with exposure to Ether (ETH), according to a document the firm filed with the SEC on Sept. 26.

The new fund accepts minimum outside investments of $50,000 and it has already seen more than $5 million in reported sales. 

The multi-trillion dollar asset manager launched originally launched its crypto-focused institutional custody and trading platform Fidelity Digital Assets in 2018. The firm currently offers two exchange-traded crypto funds that are dedicated to the metaverse and digital payments. 

This most recent development follows last month’s revelation that Fidelity Investments is mulling over the idea of letting all of its retail customers have access to trading Bitcoin (BTC) directly through the brokerage platform. 

Fidelity Digital Assets is also part of a group of institutions that are backing the launch of EDX Markets (EDXM), “a first-of-its-kind exchange that will address latent demand for digital asset trading by enabling safe and compliant trading of digital assets through trusted intermediaries.” 

Bitwise launches a Metaverse ETF

In other institutional news, crypto index fund manager Bitwise Asset Management has announced the launch of the Bitwise Web3 exchange-traded fund (ETF), which includes exposure to five categories of Web3 companies.

According to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing dated Oct. 4, the Bitwise Web3 ETF (BWEB) is now listed and trading on NYSE Arca, an all-electronic, U.S.-based exchange for listing and trading ETFs.

The five categories of Web3 companies included in the BWEB are infrastructure providers, finance, metaverse and digital worlds, “web3-enabled creator economy” and development and governance. 

The ETF offers exposure to up to 40 companies, with at least 85% of the portfolio “directly linked to business activities associated with one or more key areas of growth in web3,” Bitwise said on its website.

“With the Bitwise Web3 ETF, we’re excited to give investors the opportunity to capture one of the fastest-emerging themes in technology through a diverse mix of companies that we believe will lead the charge,” Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said in the product announcement. 

According to the ETFs product sheet, BWEB is based on the Bitwise Web3 Equities Index and has management fees equivalent to .85% of average daily net assets.