Crypto investing is now easier than ever

Direct ownership of cryptocurrency (“spot crypto”) means that the investor owns the actual assets and is individually responsible for the secure custody of their cryptocurrency via a wallet or third-party custodian. In doing so, the investor may have access to 24/7 trading and can move assets via the blockchain network. The fees paid on transactions are defined by the individual exchanges, typically based on the size of the transaction, demand for block space, and the exchange's fee model.

Spot crypto ETPs provide indirect exposure to the price of cryptocurrencies through an investment product available on a traditional stock market exchange. ETPs can be held in tax-advantaged accounts, and capital gains will be recorded alongside traditional brokerage tax reporting. FETH and FBTC operate like other exchange-traded products, trading during stock market hours with fees charged as part of the fund's expense ratio.

For more information, view our article about gaining exposure to bitcoin through a spot crypto exchange-traded product.

All ETFs are part of a broader category called exchange-traded products (ETPs), which are listed on an exchange and can be bought and sold during market hours like a stock. ETFs, the most common type of ETP, are governed by the Investment Company Act of 1940 and are pooled investment opportunities that typically include baskets of stocks, bonds, and other asset groups based on fund objectives. Fidelity’s spot crypto ETPs are similar to ETFs in that they trade on an exchange, however, FBTC and FETH are ETPs that hold 100% cryptocurrencies and do not invest in securities; therefore, they are not subject to the Investment Company Act of 1940.

Yes. With Fidelity Crypto^®, you can trade and secure crypto like bitcoin and ethereum directly with as little as $1. By owning crypto like bitcoin or ethereum directly, you can trade your crypto through your Fidelity Crypto^® account 7 days a week, 23 hours a day. You'll get institution-level security and services that Fidelity Digital Assets^℠ has offered since 2018. You can also grow your crypto knowledge with news, articles, podcasts, and webinars, and dive deeper with on-demand education. Fidelity Crypto^® is offered by Fidelity Digital Assets^℠. Direct trading of crypto can only take place in a Fidelity Crypto^® account and is not available in brokerage accounts. Fidelity Crypto^® is not available in every state.

Fidelity’s spot crypto ETPs provide investors with the opportunity to gain indirect exposure to the performance of bitcoin or ether in their brokerage accounts. FBTC and FETH are exchange-traded products and can be bought through brokerage, trust, and tax-advantaged accounts. Custody of the cryptocurrency held by the funds is provided by Fidelity Digital Asset Services, LLC. FBTC and FETH cannot be purchased through a Fidelity Crypto^® account.

Learn more about spot bitcoin ETPs.

At this time, exchange-traded products (ETPs) are not available as a designated investment option within a 401(k) plan. If a plan already offers Self-Directed Brokerage (SDB) and allows ETPs as an investment option within their brokerage window, FBTC, FETH, and other spot crypto exchange-traded products may be eligible for investment.

Placing an order for the Fidelity^® Wise Origin^® Bitcoin Fund, the Fidelity^® Ethereum Fund, and similar spot crypto ETP products requires investors to execute Fidelity's Designated Investments Agreement (DIA). Fidelity requires the DIA on certain complex and risky products. Investors should only invest in investment products that align with their investment objectives, time horizon, and tolerance for risk.

Investors who have not previously agreed to the DIA for their account will be prompted to review the agreement on Fidelity.com after entering trade details. Investors using the Fidelity app will be redirected to a browser to complete this step.

Additionally, Fidelity requires the investment objective of the account that will hold the share of a spot crypto ETP to have an investment objective of "Most Aggressive." Investors will be prompted to select their investment objective for their Fidelity account. If the investor agrees with that objective, they can then proceed to place an order.

The Fidelity^® Wise Origin^® Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) is an exchange-traded product that seeks to track the performance of bitcoin. FBTC provides investors with the opportunity to gain exposure to the price of bitcoin in a familiar investment structure that passively invests in bitcoin. As an exchange-traded product, investors can purchase the fund through multiple account types, including brokerage, trust, and tax-advantaged accounts.

Fidelity is not recommending or endorsing this fund or any allocation to this fund. Before investing in FBTC, investors should consider their time horizon, tolerance for risk, and personal financial situation. Learn more in our article that discusses 3 keys to choosing investments.

Bitcoin, and products that track its performance, historically experienced heightened volatility compared to traditional equities. You can learn more about the cryptocurrency through insights from Fidelity.

Fidelity Investments is charging an expense ratio of 25 basis points, as of August 1, 2024.

No. The fund seeks to track the performance of bitcoin passively, as measured by the performance of the Fidelity Bitcoin Reference Rate. FBTC holds 100% bitcoin.

The bitcoin in the Fidelity^® Wise Origin^® Bitcoin Fund are custodied by Fidelity Digital Asset Services, LLC. Fidelity Digital Assets℠ provides an enterprise-grade custody solution for securing digital assets, featuring extensive operational, cyber, and physical controls.

Investors will not be issued dividends.

Volatility. Gaining exposure to the performance of bitcoin does not shield investors from bitcoin's volatility, which has been substantial at times throughout its history. Unlike many other ETFs and ETPs, which diversify their risk across several stocks or commodities within a specific sector, spot bitcoin ETP holdings are concentrated only in bitcoin.

Trading hours. Spot bitcoin ETPs can only be bought or sold during traditional market hours. Bitcoin trades 24/7 and has made significant double-digit moves on weekends. An ETP investor will have to wait until the market opens to enter or exit positions.

Tracking errors. Like other ETPs, spot bitcoin ETPs may not always exactly reflect the price of bitcoin as a result of management fees and rebalancing costs and delays.

As with any investment, investors should consider their investment objectives, time horizon, tolerance for risk, and personal financial situation. Learn more about the pros and cons of spot bitcoin ETPs.

Placing an order for the Fidelity^® Wise Origin^® Bitcoin Fund and similar spot bitcoin ETP products requires investors to execute Fidelity's Designated Investments Agreement (DIA). Fidelity requires the DIA on certain complex and risky products. Investors should only invest in investment products that align with their investment objectives, time horizon, and tolerance for risk.

Investors who have not previously agreed to the DIA for their account will be prompted to review the agreement on Fidelity.com after entering trade details. Investors using the Fidelity app will be redirected to a browser to complete this step.

Additionally, Fidelity requires the investment objective of the account that will hold the FBTC shares to have an investment objective of "Most Aggressive." Investors will be prompted to select their investment objective for their Fidelity account. If the investor agrees with that objective, they can then proceed to place an order.

Because FBTC holds 100% bitcoin, the fund’s net asset value (NAV) will generally reflect the price changes of spot bitcoin (the underlying asset) as measured by the performance of the Fidelity Bitcoin Reference Rate index. The NAV is struck at 4 p.m. ET on weekdays. Like other ETPs, spot bitcoin ETPs may not always exactly reflect the price of bitcoin because of fees and rebalancing costs and delays. The performance of FBTC will not reflect the specific return an investor would realize if the investor purchased bitcoin directly.

At this time, exchange-traded products (ETPs) are not available as a designated investment option within a 401(k) plan. If a plan already offers Self-Directed Brokerage (SDB) and allows ETPs as an investment option within their brokerage window, FBTC and other spot bitcoin exchange-traded products may be eligible for investment.

The Fidelity^® Ethereum Fund (FETH) is an exchange-traded product that seeks to track the performance of ether. FETH provides investors with the opportunity to gain exposure to the price of ether in a familiar investment structure that passively invests in ether. As an exchange-traded product, investors can purchase the fund through multiple account types, including brokerage, trust, and tax-advantaged accounts like an IRA.

Fidelity is not recommending or endorsing this fund or any allocation to this fund. Before investing in FETH, investors should consider their time horizon, tolerance for risk, and personal financial situation. Learn more in our article that discusses 3 keys to choosing investments.

Ether, and products that track its performance, historically experienced heightened volatility compared to traditional equities. You can learn more about cryptocurrency through insights from Fidelity.

Fidelity Investments is waiving the fee to invest in FETH. Starting January 1, 2025, Fidelity will begin charging an expense ratio of 25 basis points.

No. The fund seeks to track the performance of ether passively, as measured by the performance of the Fidelity Ethereum Reference Rate. FETH holds 100% ether.

The ether in the Fidelity^® Ethereum Fund are custodied by Fidelity Digital Asset Services, LLC. Fidelity Digital Assets^℠ provides an enterprise-grade custody solution for securing digital assets, featuring extensive operational, cyber, and physical controls.

No. No portion of the fund’s underlying ether will be staked. You can learn more about crypto staking with insights from Fidelity.

Investors will not be issued dividends.

Fidelity Investments is waiving the fee to invest in FETH. Starting January 1, 2025, Fidelity will begin charging an expense ratio of 25 basis points.

Volatility. Gaining exposure to the performance of ether does not shield investors from ether’s volatility, which has been substantial at times throughout its history. Unlike many other ETFs and ETPs, which diversify their risk across several stocks or commodities within a specific sector, spot ether ETP holdings are concentrated only in ether.

Trading hours. Spot ether ETPs can only be bought or sold during traditional market hours. Cryptocurrencies trade 24/7 and have made significant double-digit moves on weekends. An ETP investor will have to wait until the market opens to enter or exit positions.

Tracking errors. Like other ETPs, spot ether ETPs may not always exactly reflect the price of ether as a result of management fees and rebalancing costs and delays.

Network Protocol and Governance. The Ethereum network protocol and future upgrades are informally facilitated by a collective of core developers who introduce Ethereum Improvement Protocols to update the network. There is no guarantee that these new protocols will positively affect the network or the value of ether. The network has been implementing a series of software upgrades and changes since 2022 (often referred to as “Ethereum 2.0”), which includes material updates to its source code. While the upgrades have historically been installed successfully, these upgrades result in new iterations of the Ethereum network, which may contain undiscovered flaws that could negatively impact the value of ether.

As with any investment, investors should consider their investment objectives, time horizon, tolerance for risk, and personal financial situation.

Placing an order for the Fidelity^® Wise Origin^® Bitcoin Fund, the Fidelity^® Ethereum Fund, and similar spot crypto ETP products requires investors to execute Fidelity's Designated Investments Agreement (DIA). Fidelity requires the DIA on certain complex and risky products. Investors should only invest in investment products that align with their investment objectives, time horizon, and tolerance for risk.

Investors who have not previously agreed to the DIA for their account will be prompted to review the agreement on Fidelity.com after entering trade details. Investors using the Fidelity app will be redirected to a browser to complete this step.

Additionally, Fidelity requires the investment objective of the account that will hold the share of a spot crypto ETP to have an investment objective of "Most Aggressive." Investors will be prompted to select their investment objective for their Fidelity account. If the investor agrees with that objective, they can then proceed to place an order.

Because FETH holds 100% ether, the fund’s net asset value (NAV) will generally reflect the price changes of spot ether (the underlying asset) as measured by the performance of the Fidelity Ethereum Reference Rate index. The NAV is struck at 4 p.m. ET on weekdays. Like other ETPs, spot ether ETPs may not always exactly reflect the price of ether because of fees and rebalancing costs and delays. The performance of FETH will not reflect the specific return an investor would realize if the investor purchased ether directly.