Fidelity's Crypto Holdings Reach $26 Billion, Driven by Institutional Adoption and ETFs

Fidelity Investments has expanded its cryptocurrency holdings to $26 billion by August 2025, primarily through Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. This growth reflects growing institutional adoption and influences market dynamics for Bitcoin and Ethereum. Fidelity's expansion aligns with previous trends in institutional adoption following spot ETF launches and suggests continued investment in digital assets will encourage market expansion and value appreciation.

Fidelity Investments has significantly expanded its cryptocurrency holdings, reaching $26 billion by August 2025. This growth, primarily driven by Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, reflects the increasing institutional adoption of digital assets and influences market dynamics for both Bitcoin and Ethereum.

As of January 1, 2025, Fidelity's two flagship spot crypto ETFs, the Fidelity Bitcoin ETF (FBTC) and Fidelity Ethereum ETF (FETH), reported combined holdings of 201,163 BTC and 462,250 ETH, valued at $20.55 billion [1]. By August 20, 2025, these holdings had increased to 199,127 BTC and 728,939 ETH, totaling $25.92 billion at prevailing market prices. This represents a 26.1% growth in value over a span of less than eight months.

The growth in Fidelity’s exposure has been driven by both Bitcoin and Ethereum, although the dynamics differ between the two assets. While BTC holdings decreased slightly in terms of unit volume (by around 2,000 BTC), their dollar value rose by $3.76 billion, or 19.8%, fueled by Bitcoin’s price increase from $92,595 to $113,500. Ethereum, on the other hand, accounted for the majority of the growth. Fidelity’s ETH holdings jumped by 62% in volume, from 462,250 to 728,939 tokens, which translated into a 103.9% rise in value, from $1.55 billion to $3.16 billion [1].

Beyond its ETFs, Fidelity’s involvement in the crypto space extends to its custody services. Data from Arkham indicates that Fidelity Custody’s digital asset holdings reached $46.21 billion as of August 20, 2025, a nearly $10 billion increase from the start of the year. These custodial activities include managing assets for institutional clients such as corporates and hedge funds, further solidifying Fidelity’s role as a key custodian of institutional-grade digital assets [1].

The broader institutional adoption of crypto is also reflected in the performance of U.S. Bitcoin ETFs. As of August 17, 2025, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively held 1.25 million BTC, a historic milestone. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) leads the pack with 748,968 BTC, while Fidelity’s FBTC holds 199,798 BTC [4].

Fidelity's expansion aligns with previous trends in institutional adoption following spot ETF launches and suggests continued investment in digital assets will encourage market expansion and value appreciation. The growth of Fidelity’s crypto holdings underscores the integration of Bitcoin and Ethereum into traditional finance at an unprecedented scale, signaling that crypto is no longer a fringe asset class but a core part of global capital markets.

References:
[1] https://finbold.com/fidelitys-crypto-holdings-climb-by-5-billion-in-2025/
[2] https://coindoo.com/wall-street-giant-fidelity-expands-crypto-holdings-to-26-billion/
[3] https://dailyhodl.com/2025/08/21/blackrock-fidelity-and-grayscale-dump-their-ethereum-as-other-whales-panic-sell-amid-eth-correction/
[4] https://www.ainvest.com/news/bitcoin-news-today-fidelity-vaults-25-9b-crypto-etfs-bitcoin-ethereum-surge-2508/