The cohort of publicly traded companies with holdings of at least 1,000 Bitcoin (BTC) has surged from 24 at the end of the first quarter to 35 as of July 25, representing a nearly 50% increase.

According to new figures released by Chris Kuiper, vice president of research at Fidelity Digital Assets, the growth pushes the group’s combined stash to almost 900,000 BTC, edging it toward the symbolic 1 million BTC mark.

The chart shows that after hitting a plateau in 2023, the number of heavyweight corporate holders began to accelerate late last year and has continued to rise. 

Distributed acquisitions

Kuiper argued that, in addition to the increase in companies, the pattern of buying also showed a significant change.

In the first quarter, companies acquired just under 100,000 Bitcoins. One firm dominated that flow, leaving other slices of the pie chart thin. 

By the second quarter, purchasing had climbed to more than 154,000 BTC, representing a 35% increase from the previous quarter. More importantly, the acquisitions were shared across a far broader set of treasuries. 

The second pie chart bristles with new slices, signalling that Bitcoin is no longer the preserve of a handful of balance‑sheet pioneers.

Rising demand

Aside from the Bitcoin acquisition by heavyweights, broad corporate adoption also increased this year.

In the first six months of 2025, public companies absorbed 245,510 BTC, more than double the 118,424 BTC created for spot exchange‑traded funds over the same stretch. 

That haul is a 375 % leap from the 51,653 BTC corporates picked up in the comparable 2024 period, while exchange-traded fund (ETF) demand plunged 56 % year‑over‑year after last year’s launch‑driven burst. 

Strategy still led the pack with 135,600 BTC, representing nearly 55% of the total, but its share has declined from 72%, indicating that buying has broadened beyond a single bellwether. 

Boards now purchase roughly 2.1 BTC for every ETF coin minted, framing Bitcoin less as a speculative punt and more as working capital or a reserve asset.

Mentioned in this article

Metaplanet has announced that National Financial Services LLC (NFS), a subsidiary of Fidelity Investments, is now its largest shareholder.

In a July 15 disclosure, the firm revealed that NFS holds 84.4 million shares, equivalent to 12.9% of its total equity. Based on current valuations, this stake is worth approximately ¥121 billion or around $816 million.

As of March 31, NFS only held 1.91 million shares in Metaplanet.

NFS is a custodian for retail and institutional investors using Fidelity’s trading platforms. Fidelity is one of the 12 issuers of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US, with its FBTC fund managing around $25 billion in assets.

This dramatic increase reflects growing institutional and retail interest in the Japan-based firm, which is largely driven by its bold commitment to Bitcoin.

Earlier this month, Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich reported that Capital Group, another major US asset management firm overseeing $2.9 trillion in assets, disclosed a sizable position in Metaplanet. The firm reportedly owns 44.2 million shares, representing 6.6% of total ownership.

Georvich said these investments were evidence that the firm’s “shareholder base continues to evolve as global access expands.”

Bitcoin holdings surge amid stock headwinds

This institutional attention comes amid Metaplanet’s aggressive Bitcoin purchases over the past year.

According to Metaplanet’s data, the Japan-based firm holds 16,352 BTC, which was acquired for $1.6 billion. The significant holdings have yielded unrealized profits of more than $300 million.

The holdings have also positioned the firm as the fifth-largest public holder of Bitcoin, surpassing names like Tesla.

Despite this aggressive accumulation strategy, Metaplanet’s stock has faced recent headwinds. According to Yahoo Finance data, its shares are down over 24% in the past month, trading at around ¥1,436 after an 8% drop today.

Still, Metaplanet’s stock trading activity remains elevated.

Dylan LeClair, the company’s Director of Bitcoin Strategy, reported that the firm accounted for 29.2% of all Japanese yen-denominated trading volume on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Standard Market over the past 20 sessions.

This momentum follows a staggering 1,400% gain in the company’s stock price over the past year, reinforcing its profile as one of Japan’s most watched mid-cap stocks.

Mentioned in this article

Fidelity Digital Assets chose a single post on X to frame its latest research note: “Bitcoin is up ~63 % from its 2024 halving price with 27 % of this halving epoch completed. While past epochs saw triple-digit rallies, a new story may be unfolding: one of rising maturity, deeper adoption, and network resilience.” The tweet landed minutes after the firm released “2024 Bitcoin Halving: One Year Later,” authored by senior analyst Daniel Gray, who contends that the apparent lull in price action masks “a strengthening foundation.”

Fidelity Flags Bitcoin’s Silent Surge

“Bitcoin presents a nuanced narrative a year after its fourth halving, with signs pointing toward consolidation, network resilience, and growing institutional adoption,” Gray writes, adding that structural indicators “suggest a strengthening foundation.”

While previous cycles delivered triple- and even quadruple-digit percentage gains by this stage, Gray argues the softer trajectory signals maturation: “History suggests that we would be well into the bull run at this point in the fifth epoch — but this cycle may be unfolding more cautiously.”

From a market-share perspective the data are unequivocal. “Bitcoin’s market dominance excluding stablecoins has risen to just over 72.4% as of 11 May, a new eight-year high,” Gray notes, pointing out that Ether and Solana have surrendered ground even as “fragmentation on the long tail of assets has failed to produce a clear alternative leader.”

Related Reading

On-chain security metrics tell a similar story: “Bitcoin’s daily hash-rate rose above one zetta hash per second twice in April, reflecting continued investment in mining infrastructure despite a 60 percent collapse in hash price since the halving,” he observes.

Spot-market behaviour has begun to echo those fundamentals. Bitcoin printed a record intraday high of $109,486 on 21 May before extending above $111,000 on so-called Pizza Day, holding near $110,600 at press time.

The move has been underwritten by renewed demand from US spot ETFs, which drew $934.8 million of net subscriptions yesterday, May 22— the heaviest single-day haul in almost four weeks. Derivatives activity mirrors the trend: aggregate futures open interest reached a record $80 billion on May 23, up roughly 30% since the start of the month, according to CoinGlass data.

Related Reading

Meanwhile, funding rates in most crypto exchanges are at the baseline or below it. “This is the least euphoric new all-time highs in the history of Bitcoin,” crypto analyst Alex Krüger (@krugermacro) wrote via X.

Gray cautions that investors should focus less on headline returns and more on the architecture taking shape beneath them. “Although returns have been more measured compared to previous cycles, structural metrics suggest a strengthening foundation. Overall, it appears Bitcoin is potentially maturing—something investors may find more notable than short-term price movement,” he writes.

His closing assessment is blunt: “One year post-halving, Bitcoin’s price performance may seem muted, but its fundamentals appear stronger than ever … this may be a cycle that redefines Bitcoin’s role in a modern portfolio.”

In other words, Fidelity’s message for would-be spectators is as clear as its headline: do not blink.

At press time, BTC traded at $109,563.

Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

Fidelity Investments’ global macro director Jurrien Timmer believes the S&P 500 is now in a position to witness a market recovery after dropping about 20% from its all-time high this year.

In a new thread on the social media platform X, Timmer says that the S&P 500 has been swinging above and below a rising trendline as far back as December of 2011.

According to the analyst, the latest correction has driven the stock market well below the rising trendline, and it is now at a point where it could stage a comeback.

“Should the S&P 500 index overtake that breakdown point, it would happen after the index has fully swung from one extreme to another.

The chart below shows the index with its rising trendline (exponential regression). Like a pendulum, the market is always moving from one end to the next, and in this case, it went from well above the line to well below. That suggests that investors have priced in enough pain to make it worth taking the other side.”

While Timmer believes that equities are primed for an upswing, he warns that the S&P 500’s long-term uptrend – one that started in 2009 – may be entering the home stretch. According to Timmer, investors are likely to reassess their positions in the US stock market amid a changing global order.

Timmer believes that investors will now look at fundamentally sound and undervalued stocks, even if those names are outside of the US markets.

“There is no getting around questioning the bullish secular regime in which we have been since the financial crisis ended in 2009. The timing of the cyclical drawdown raises questions about the state of the secular bull, which in my view is in its final years. If a new world order of de-globalization and de-dollarization is afoot, it could change the landscape for years to come, and that could very well usher in a new secular regime.

This is an existential question not only in terms of the kind of returns we can expect in the coming years, but also the leadership within the markets. With the Mag 7 dominance now more than 10 years old and fraying, a rotation to value and international is likely to happen in a diminished secular beta regime.” 

As of Friday’s close, the S&P 500 is trading at 5,282 points.

Follow us on X, Facebook and Telegram

Don’t Miss a Beat – Subscribe to get email alerts delivered directly to your inbox

Check Price Action

Surf The Daily Hodl Mix

&nbsp

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

Generated Image: Midjourney

Fidelity Investments is launching zero-fee retirement plans that will provide investors exposure to three major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC). 

The product is available to US citizens over 18 who reside in states where Fidelity Digital Assets supports crypto individual retirement arrangements (IRAs). The asset manager is offering three different IRA plans.

The first plan is a tax-free Roth IRA, which allows investors to save for retirement with already taxed money, while the second is a more “traditional” IRA, which allows for tax-deferred potential earnings growth.

The third plan is a Rollover IRA, which enables investors to transfer funds from a former employer’s plan to an IRA, such as a 401(k), 403(b), or another IRA.

To open a Fidelity Crypto IRA, investors must also hold a Fidelity brokerage IRA with the same registration type, which acts as a funding account. 

Users can transfer funds from the linked brokerage IRA into the crypto IRA to execute trades. If an individual does not already hold a qualifying Fidelity brokerage IRA, the firm will open one in parallel when setting up the crypto IRA.

Additionally, Fidelity’s decision to only include Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin reflects a focus on established assets with relatively higher market capitalization and liquidity.

No maintenance fees

According to the company, opening and maintaining a Fidelity Crypto IRA, as well as associated custody services for digital assets, will not carry a fee for customers.

However, Fidelity Digital Assets will apply a 1% spread to buy and sell orders. The spread represents the difference between the price a client receives and the price at which Fidelity Digital Assets sources the asset to fill the order.

The offering allows users to retain familiar features of traditional Fidelity retirement accounts, including beneficiary management.

The designated beneficiaries for the Fidelity Crypto IRA mirror those established on the user’s linked brokerage IRA. Customers can make changes to beneficiaries through the brokerage IRA platform.

The move is the latest from Fidelity Digital Assets, Fidelity’s arm that focuses on crypto custody, trading, and management.

Mentioned in this article

Fidelity Investments director of global macro Jurrien Timmer believes that Bitcoin (BTC) has a “possible” path to surpassing gold in market value — but “not any time soon.”

In a detailed social media post, Timmer explained his view using a chart comparing the projected growth of gold and Bitcoin over time.

He noted that if gold continues to grow at its historical compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8% — a trend seen since 1970 — and Bitcoin follows either a power law adoption curve or the internet’s S-curve growth model, the two could converge within the next 10 to 20 years.

Timmer wrote:

“If Bitcoin grows at the rate suggested by these two models, then hard money is likely winning the race, which suggests that gold will be appreciating faster than 8% per year. So, my guess is that gold will always be Bitcoin’s quieter older sibling.”

The prediction is much more cautious than forecasts shared by other industry leaders like Galaxy and Strategy founder Michael Saylor.

Institutional momentum

Timmer’s comments come amid significant volatility in crypto markets. Bitcoin fell below $84,000 again on March 28, equating to a roughly 33% decline against gold since its December peak.

The price struggles come as inflation concerns and trade tensions continue to weigh on risk assets amid the subdued market sentiment. Meanwhile, gold continues to reach new all-time highs, reinforcing its long-standing role as a safe haven.

Despite Bitcoin’s price decline, major institutions continue to show confidence in the asset. On March 27, Fidelity and BlackRock drove a combined $89 million into Bitcoin ETFs, led by Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), which saw $97.1 million in inflows.

The continued capital injection signals growing institutional conviction in Bitcoin’s long-term prospects — even as near-term price action paints a more bearish picture.

Saylor sees $500 trillion market cap

While Timmer offered a measured take, Strategy founder Michael Saylor recently presented a far more aggressive forecast.

Speaking at the DC Blockchain Summit on March 28, Saylor predicted Bitcoin’s market cap could soar to $500 trillion as it absorbs value from traditional assets like gold, real estate, and even sovereign wealth.

Saylor argued that Bitcoin is replacing “20th-century assets” with a digital, decentralized, inflation-resistant alternative. He compared the shift to historic changes in monetary systems  — like European colonizers introducing coinage to societies that used beads or shells.

Saylor added that the US has the “opportunity to grab” 25% to 30% of global Bitcoin value once the “dust settles” from this asset reorganization.

Still, the debate is clearly shifting. As more institutional money flows in and long-term models project exponential adoption, the conversation is no longer whether Bitcoin belongs in the same conversation as gold — but when and under what conditions it might catch up.

For now, Fidelity’s Timmer urged caution and said the flippening is “possible,” but gold — steady, quiet, and time-tested — still holds the upper hand.

Mentioned in this article

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.

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.

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 spot SOL application is “regulatory litmus test”

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:

“If approved, it would signal a maturing posture from the SEC that recognizes functional differentiation across blockchains.”

“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.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/fidelity-plans-stablecoin-launch-after-sol-etf-regulatory-litmus-test/feed/ 0 27292 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/fidelity-files-for-onchain-treasury-market-fund-that-stores-transaction-records-on-ethereum/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/fidelity-files-for-onchain-treasury-market-fund-that-stores-transaction-records-on-ethereum/#respond Tue, 25 Mar 2025 15:42:02 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/fidelity-files-for-onchain-treasury-market-fund-that-stores-transaction-records-on-ethereum/

The asset management giant Fidelity hopes to launch a blockchain-tracked share class for one of its existing funds.

The Fidelity Treasury Digital Fund is 99.99% invested in U.S. Treasury bills.

A new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicates the firm hopes to launch a new “OnChain” share class for the fund in May. The new product is designed to increase ownership transparency for its Treasury Digital Fund by recording transactions on a public blockchain.

Reads the filing,

“The fund’s transfer agent maintains the official record of share ownership of the OnChain class in book-entry form. Ownership of the OnChain class will also be recorded on a public blockchain. Although the secondary recording of the OnChain class on a blockchain will not represent the official record of ownership, the transfer agent will reconcile the secondary blockchain transactions with the official records of the OnChain class on at least a daily basis. The transfer agent’s book-entry records will constitute the official record of the fund and govern the record ownership of fund shares in all circumstances.”

The OnChain share class plans to use the Ethereum (ETH) network as the public blockchain. The filing notes the fund might use other blockchain networks in the future.

Follow us on X, Facebook and Telegram

Don’t Miss a Beat – Subscribe to get email alerts delivered directly to your inbox

Check Price Action

Surf The Daily Hodl Mix

&nbsp

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

Generated Image: Midjourney

The $5.9t asset management heavyweight on Friday filed to tokenize a share class of its US Treasury money market fund on Ethereum, marking its first major move into asset tokenization.

Its filing, submitted to the US SEC on March 21, outlines Fidelity’s plan to launch an “OnChain” share class of its $80m Fidelity Treasury Digital Fund (FYHXX).

The underlying assets — mainly US Treasury bills and cash — will stay in traditional custody. Investor share records, however, will also be logged on the Ethereum blockchain to improve transparency and traceability. The official ownership record will still be kept off-chain by Fidelity’s transfer agent. Blockchain entries will be reconciled with this official record on a daily basis.

TradFi Titans Embrace Tokenization to Modernize Markets

Fidelity now joins a growing group of traditional finance giants exploring tokenization. Others in this space include BlackRock and Franklin Templeton. These firms see tokenization as a way to modernize financial infrastructure. It involves creating digital representations of real-world assets (RWAs) on a blockchain.

The promise lies in real-time settlement, fractional ownership, improved transparency and broader access to financial products that were once difficult to reach.

So far, that promise is catching on. According to data from rwa.xyz, the total market for tokenized US Treasuries has surged to $4.78b. Ethereum alone accounts for over $3.3b in value, far outpacing other blockchains like Stellar.

BlackRock launched its USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) just last year. It has already amassed $1.46b in tokenized assets. This shows that institutions are no longer just exploring blockchain. They are now actively building on it.

Fidelity Experiments with Ethereum, Keeps Options Open

Fidelity’s approach is cautious but deliberate. By keeping the core asset structure unchanged and only recording a secondary ledger on-chain, the firm can test blockchain benefits without disrupting regulatory compliance or investor expectations. The fund itself remains a conventional money market vehicle — focusing on capital preservation, income generation, and liquidity — but now with an optional tech-forward twist.

Pending regulatory approval, the OnChain share class is expected to go live by May 30. Fidelity also noted that it may explore other blockchains beyond Ethereum in the future, signaling longer-term ambitions in the digital asset space.

The post Fidelity Joins the Tokenization Trend with On-Chain Treasury Fund Filing appeared first on Cryptonews.