Bitcoin ETFs have become increasingly popular as Bitcoin continued to flirt with its ATH. Fidelity Investments becomes the latest entrant in the join the race and is now prepping up the roll-out of its own Bitcoin ETF. According to the official document, the investment giant’s affiliate, FD Funds Management, has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] to seek approval for the “Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust,”
The preliminary filing revealed that “Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust” would hold the crypto-asset and value its shares on the basis of its prices from major cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Coinbase and Bitstamp.
Fidelity’s statement to Reuters read,
“The digital assets ecosystem has grown significantly in recent years, creating an even more robust marketplace for investors and accelerating demand among institutions. An increasingly wide range of investors seeking access to bitcoin has underscored the need for a more diversified set of products offering exposure to digital asset”
Fidelity-backed trust does not plan to sell the crypto-asset, but will rather use it to settle certain expenses, which under current guidance of the IRS will be deemed as a sale of such virtual currency.
Bitcoin ETF Gains Traction
The US SEC has rejected all the Bitcoin ETF proposals in the past. It had acknowledged a proposal from VanEck last week. In addition, there are four applications in total that are pending review by the authority which included- NYDIG Asset Management, WisdomTree Investments, Valkyrie Digital Assets, and VanEck Associates Corp.
Unlike its US counterpart, Canada’s regulatory authority has been quite progressive. In Feb-March, three Bitcoin ETFs went live back-to-back on the Toronto Stock Exchange after receiving the stamp of Bitcoin ETF.
Just last week Brazil became the first country in the Latin American region to approve the exchange-traded fund. This was launched by asset manager QR Capital and is slated to go live by June this year.