Fidelity Join ProShares in Filing Metaverse ETF Applications

Fidelity Investments has filed a metaverse ETF with the U.S. SEC, according to a filing. The ETF would focus on companies building products related to the metaverse.

Fidelity Investments has filed a new ETF with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The ETF is focused on the metaverse, the filing reveals, and is called the Fidelity Metaverse Index. The product would focus on virtual worlds and businesses related to the “development, manufacturing and distribution of products related to the Metaverse.”

Interest in this new digital frontier is booming, both inside and outside the crypto space. ProShares, which has a popular bitcoin ETF already, also filed a similar ETF application in December 2021.

The SEC rejected a spot bitcoin ETF application by Fidelity earlier this week and has been quite against approving spot ETFs for the market. Futures-based ETFs, however, have been approved and SEC Chair Gary Gensler has shown acceptance for it.

It will not be long before other firms and companies enter the NFT market, with the way things are going. It is a very lucrative space and one that both crypto companies and traditional ones are eager to get a foothold in.

Metaverse set to become a major trend of 2022

The metaverse is set to have a very eventful year as multiple companies, including big tech, are working on products. Meta is going all-in the metaverse, with its Oculus line of VR products set to play a strong role. Microsoft also has its Vortex Studio, which is working on related products and will benefit from its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

The potential of the metaverse to engage fans and build unique experiences is strong, and major companies want to cash in. With the growth of VR and AR, and prices of devices dropping, consumers can interact with their favorite experiences and characters and maybe even earn from them. Disney, for example, wants to build an amusement park in the metaverse.

Of course, these developments are quite far away, but companies want to be the first in the market. Alongside this, decentralized projects like Decentraland (MANA) and The Sandbox (SAND) are also building virtual worlds.