By Elizabeth Howcroft
(Reuters) -U.S. asset manager Fidelity Investments is exploring whether to launch its own stablecoin, in the latest sign of mainstream investors looking to cash in on a revival of interest in cryptocurrencies.
Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant value, usually a 1:1 dollar peg, making it easier for traders to move funds between cryptocurrencies. Their use has grown rapidly in recent years.
A spokesperson for Fidelity said that the company’s digital asset arm was in the process of testing a stablecoin, but had no immediate plans to launch one.
The Financial Times first reported the news, saying that Fidelity Investments planned to launch a stablecoin and was in advanced stages of testing the token.
There are around $239 billion worth of stablecoins in circulation, according to data provider CoinGecko. The largest issuer, El Salvador-based Tether, has created more than $140 billion worth of its token, which has proven lucrative as the company earns interest on the reserves held to back the coin.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s show of support for the crypto industry has prompted mainstream financial institutions to explore more crypto-related products.
Trump’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, announced on Tuesday its own plans to launch a dollar-pegged stablecoin, backed by U.S. Treasuries, dollars and other cash equivalents.
U.S. asset managers have previously made moves in the crypto industry, for example by launching exchange-traded funds to track the price of bitcoin, after the products were approved by U.S. regulators in January 2024.
On March 21, a separate digital asset business within Fidelity Investments filed to launch a tokenised money market fund, in which buyers’ shares would be recorded on blockchain as well as via standard electronic records.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft in ParisEditing by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes and Franklin Paul)
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