Fidelity Investments is launching its own stablecoin called the Fidelity Digital Dollar (FIDD), which will be pegged 1:1 to the US dollar and backed by reserves. The stablecoin will be available to both institutional and retail clients in the coming weeks, according to Bloomberg. FIDD will be built on the Ethereum network and can be transferred to any ETH address, enabling use across multiple compatible DeFi protocols. Entering a Crowded Marketplace The new stablecoin will be issued by Fidelity Digital Assets, National Association, a national trust bank that received conditional approval to operate from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in December, the report added. “We believe stablecoins have the potential to serve as foundational payment and settlement instruments,” Mike O’Reilly, president of Fidelity Digital Assets, told the outlet. “Real-time settlement, 24/7, low-cost treasury management are all meaningful benefits that stablecoins can bring to both our retail and our institutional clients.” FIDD reserves specify “cash, cash equivalents, and short-term US Treasuries” in compliance with the GENIUS Act. The company is entering a very crowded market dominated by just two players, Tether and Circle, which jointly command 82% of the market share. The firm also faces stiff competition from the likes of PayPal and Ripple, which have launched stablecoins but have yet to capture significant market share. Meanwhile, Tether just introduced a US-compliant version of its stablecoin, focused entirely on the US market, called USA₮. Ethereum Is King For Stablecoins Ethereum remains the industry leader for stablecoin deployment with a 56% market share, according to RWA.xyz. The next largest blockchain for stablecoins is Tron with a 28% market share, while Solana is third with just under 5%. The total stablecoin market capitalization is currently $312 billion, or around 10% of the entire crypto asset market, according to Coingecko. Tether’s USDT has a commanding lead with 60% of the stablecoin market at $186 billion in circulation. It is unlikely that Fidelity will be able to compete with this, and its offering is likely to be limited to its institutional investors. Nevertheless, the firm has over 50 million customers and more than $15 trillion in assets under management. The post Fidelity Chooses Ethereum For its New FIDD Stablecoin appeared first on CryptoPotato .
