An affiliate of investment giant Fidelity is the next candidate to try a bitcoin ETF filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. On Wednesday, the corresponding Form S-1 was filed with the agency. At its core, the application seeks approval for the “Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust,” an exchange-traded fund with several ties to Fidelity. This is, of course, noteworthy in that Fidelity is one of the world’s largest asset managers.
According to the filing, Fidelity affiliates will serve as the fund’s sponsor, administrator, custodian, and trustee. The fund would track the performance of Fidelity’s Bitcoin Index. Peter Jubber, managing director of Fidelity Digital Funds, would serve as president of the trust.
As early as last fall, Fidelity published a sensational study on the subject of Bitcoin. It predicted that constantly falling bond yields and the expansive monetary policy of central banks would encourage many large asset managers to invest in Bitcoin.
Moreover, Fidelity was among the first prominent asset managers to get involved with crypto stocks. In 2014, they already started mining Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) there. That same year, Abigail Johnson took over as CEO of the company from her father. Given Fidelity’s importance to the U.S. capital markets, the SEC added pressure to grant its request for the first Bitcoin ETF.
And that, in turn, could have an impact on the countless other Bitcoin ETF applications that have been received by the SEC in recent weeks and months.
