Asset manager Fidelity is planning to launch two ETFs to track the metaverse and the cryptocurrency sector, according to SEC filings

• The two ETFs will track a “global universe” of companies on Fidelity’s proprietary indexes.

• Fidelity will create two ETFs that track companies involved in crypto and the metaverse according to SEC filings.
• The filings come as the crypto market undergoes a severe crash while the metaverse grows in popularity.
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Asset manager Fidelity Investments plans to launch two exchange-traded funds that will track and reflect the performance of companies exposed to the metaverse and crypto sector, SEC filings showed on Thursday. 

Fidelity filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday and set out key information on the proposed exchange-traded funds, called the Fidelity Crypto Industry and Digital Payments ETF, and the Fidelity Metaverse ETF.

The filings come at a time when cryptocurrencies are undergoing a severe correction that has eroded over $1 trillion in market value in a matter of weeks. 

However, the metaverse is seeing a surge in popularity from both retail and institutional investors, with billions of dollars in investment pouring into the virtual world. 

The Fidelity Crypto Industry and Digital Payments ETF will provide returns correlating with the performance of the Fidelity Crypto Industry and Digital Payments Index. 

This index reflects the performance of “a global universe of companies” that are engaged in activities related to cryptocurrency, including cryptocurrency mining, blockchain technology, and digital payments processing, according to the filing. 

The ETF will not invest directly in cryptocurrencies or other digital assets, but it would have indirect exposure to them through its investments in companies involved in crypto, the filing stated.

The Fidelity Metaverse ETF will provide investment returns correlating with the performance of the Fidelity Metaverse Index.

This Index reflects the performance of a “global universe of companies that develop, manufacture, distribute, or sell products or services related to establishing and enabling the metaverse,” according to the filing.

“‘Metaverse’  is a term used to describe a future state of the internet characterized by a network of both augmented reality and virtual worlds that can be experienced persistently and in a shared environment by large numbers of users,” the filing stated.

A growing number of companies are seeking to get exposure to the metaverse, whether through owning digital assets in the virtual world, or via those firms that run it or operate in it. Analysts at Goldman Sachs believe the metaverse has the potential to offer a $8-trillion investment opportunity.