Fidelity says it is “actively testing” a stablecoin, but has no plans to launch the product at this time, a company spokesperson told Fortune on Wednesday.
The traditional investment company’s experimentation with a stablecoin—a type of cryptocurrency designed to fluctuate in line with fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar—comes as President Donald Trump ushers in an era of crypto-friendly policy in Washington, marking a major break with the previous administration. Trump has specifically pushed for Congress to pass stablecoin legislation that would provide a clear regulatory framework for the sector by August.
But Fidelity refuted a Financial Times report that the Boston-based firm is “planning to launch” its own stablecoin product and that the token “is designed to act as cash in cryptocurrency markets.” A spokesperson said it is premature to discuss the use cases for any hypothetical stablecoin the company is working on.
The Trump-era shift toward regulatory clarity around crypto has also prompted other financial services companies to explore the stablecoin space. Trump’s decentralized finance platform World Liberty Financial (WLFI) announced plans earlier this week to launch a dollar-backed stablecoin called USD1. The USD1 stablecoin is designed to be used for “seamless, secure cross-border transactions,” WLFI co-founder Zach Witkoff said in a statement on Tuesday.
Fidelity established itself in the crypto space in 2014, when the company first began mining Bitcoin, according to its website. It was also one of the first asset managers permitted to list its Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the stock market, which launched early last year.
The company has also joined a growing chorus of financial service companies seeking to digitize traditional assets like stocks and bonds using blockchain technology. Earlier this week, the company filed to register a blockchain-based digital version of its U.S. dollar money market fund—a type of mutual fund that invests in low-risk, short-term debt securities—with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
