Fidelity plans stablecoin launch after SOL ETF ‘regulatory litmus test’

Fidelity Investments is reportedly in the final stages of testing a US dollar-pegged stablecoin, signaling the firm’s latest push into digital assets amid a more favorable crypto regulatory climate under the Trump administration.

The $5.8 trillion asset manager plans to launch the stablecoin through its cryptocurrency division, Fidelity Digital Assets, according to a March 25 report by the Financial Times citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.

The stablecoin development is reportedly part of the asset manager’s wider push into crypto-based services. Fidelity is also launching an Ethereum-based “OnChain” share class for its US dollar money market fund.

Fidelity’s March 21 filing with the US securities regulator stated the OnChain share class would help track transactions of the Fidelity Treasury Digital Fund (FYHXX), an $80 million fund consisting almost entirely of US Treasury bills.

While the OnChain share class filing is pending regulatory approval, it is expected to take effect on May 30, Fidelity said.

Fidelity’s filing to register a tokenized version of the Fidelity Treasury Digital Fund. Source: Securities and Exchange Commission

Increasingly more US financial institutions are launching cryptocurrency-based offerings after President Donald Trump’s election signaled a shift in policy.

Custodia and Vantage Bank have launched “America’s first-ever bank-issued stablecoin” on the permissionless Ethereum blockchain, which will act as a “real dollar” and not a “synthetic” dollar, as Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller called stablecoins in a Feb. 12 speech.

Source: Caitlin Long

Trump previously signaled that his administration intends to make crypto policy a national priority and the US a global hub for blockchain innovation.

Related: Trump turned crypto from ‘oppressed industry’ to ‘centerpiece’ of US strategy

Fidelity’s stablecoin push comes a day after Cboe BZX Exchange, a US securities exchange, requested permission to list a proposed Fidelity exchange-traded fund (ETF) holding Solana (SOL), according to March 25 filings. 

The filing may provide insights about the SEC’s regulatory attitude toward Solana ETFs, according to Lingling Jiang, partner at DWF Labs crypto venture capital firm.

“This filing is also more than just a product proposal — it’s a regulatory litmus test,” Jiang told Cointelegraph, adding:

“It would accelerate the development of compliant financial products tied to next-gen assets — and for market makers, that means more instruments, more pairs, and ultimately, more velocity in the system,” Jiang added. 

Related: SEC dropping XRP case was ‘priced in’ since Trump’s election: Analysts

Meanwhile, crypto industry participants are awaiting US stablecoin legislation, which may come in the next two months.

The GENIUS Act, an acronym for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, would establish collateralization guidelines for stablecoin issuers while requiring full compliance with Anti-Money Laundering laws.

A positive sign for the industry is that the stablecoin bill may be on the president’s desk in the next two months, according to Bo Hines, the executive director of the president’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets.

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