Fidelity to launch dollar-backed stablecoin FIDD on Ethereum in coming weeks

Fidelity Investments has said it will launch its first stablecoin, the Fidelity Digital Dollar, as one of the world’s largest asset managers steps into onchain payments and settlement as U.S. regulation around digital dollars takes shape.

Branded as FIDD, the token will be issued by Fidelity Digital Assets’ national trust bank and is expected to roll out to both retail and institutional customers in the coming weeks, according to a Wednesday press release. FIDD will launch on Ethereum and will be redeemable one-to-one for U.S. dollars through Fidelity platforms, the bank said.

Fidelity said it will oversee issuance and management of reserves for the stablecoin, leaning on its asset management arm, Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, to handle reserve assets.

Customers will be able to purchase or redeem FIDD for $1 through Fidelity Digital Assets, Fidelity Crypto and Fidelity Crypto for Wealth Managers, with the stablecoin also transferable to any Ethereum mainnet address and available on major crypto exchanges where it is listed.

“At Fidelity, we have a long-standing belief in the transformative power of the digital assets ecosystem and have spent years researching and advocating for the benefits of stablecoins,” Mike O’Reilly, president of Fidelity Digital Assets, said in the release. He added that the firm sees stablecoins as a way to provide investors with onchain utility backed by institutional-grade security.

The launch follows years of development by Fidelity Investments, which began building digital asset infrastructure in 2014 and formally launched Fidelity Digital Assets in 2019.

The firm first said it was testing a stablecoin in early 2025, but had not committed to a launch at the time.

Stablecoin regulation

FIDD’s announcement arrives as the stablecoin market has grown to nearly $300 billion in total supply, according to The Block’s data, and as regulatory clarity has begun to emerge in the United States. The GENIUS Act, passed last year, established a federal framework for payment stablecoins, a development Fidelity cited as a key factor enabling its entry into the market.

“The recent passage of the GENIUS Act was a significant milestone for the industry in providing clear regulatory guardrails for payment stablecoins,” O’Reilly stated.

A group of major global banks, including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Banco Santander, and others, also announced they are jointly exploring the issuance of a 1:1 reserve-backed digital payment asset available on public blockchains, focused on G7 currencies.

Washington lawmakers are still negotiating a broader crypto market structure bill that includes ongoing debate over stablecoin issuance, reserve standards, and whether issuers should be permitted to share yield with users. Recent Senate Agriculture Committee efforts to advance the legislation have faced delays and unresolved differences between parties, even as aides say talks are expected to resume.

At the same time, banks have warned that wider adoption of stablecoins could pose a risk to traditional deposits.

Standard Chartered has said stablecoins could drain as much as $500 billion from U.S. bank deposits by 2028, while Bank of America’s CEO has cautioned that trillions of dollars could migrate to digital dollars if issuers are allowed to pay interest.

The Block has reached out to Fidelity for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.