Fidelity Investments applied to list a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund that would track the cryptocurrency using pricing from U.S.-based exchanges.
The firm’s Wise Orgin Bitcoin Trust would use underlying prices from exchanges that include Bitstamp, Coinbase, Gemini, itBit and Kraken, Fidelity said in a filing Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The application comes a month after North America’s first Bitcoin ETFs, including the Purpose Bitcoin ETF and another from Evolve Funds Group, began trading in Canada.
Several other Bitcoin ETF proposals in the U.S., including those put forth by Gemini crypto-exchange founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, have failed to pass SEC muster.
“The digital assets ecosystem has grown significantly in recent years, creating an even more robust marketplace for investors and accelerating demand among institutions,” Fidelity said in an e-mailed statement. “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 assets.”
