Fidelity Bitcoin Fund Attracts $102M in First 9 Months

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26 May 2021

Fidelity Investments’ first bitcoin fund has raised $102 million from wealthy investors since launching in August, according to Wednesday regulatory filings.

Managed by Chief Strategist Peter Jubber, the Wise Origin Bitcoin Index Fund I, LP, is a passively-managed vehicle that Fidelity sells to qualified investors through its Fidelity Digital Funds subsidiary. Some 83 investors pooled their bets (at a minimum of $50,000 each) for a total raise of $102,350,437, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings show.

That’s enough to make Fidelity’s offering one of largest of its kind. Only Pantera, Galaxy and NYDIG, which recently began providing access to Morgan Stanley clients, have reported more than $100 million in sales for a bitcoin-only fund.

Morgan Stanley’s standalone bitcoin fund, offered in partnership with NYDIG, managed $29.4 million in its first two weeks, as CoinDesk first reported in April.

Such funds are only open to accredited investors. Fidelity has moved to launch a more broadly available bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) – also under the “Wise Origin” brand. The SEC has yet to approve a bitcoin ETF, swatting down dozens of proposals in recent years.

Fidelity did not immediately respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.

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