Big news in the world of digital assets! U.S. asset management titan Fidelity Investments is making a significant move. They’ve just filed the necessary paperwork to launch a blockchain-powered, tokenized version of their U.S. dollar money market fund. It looks like Fidelity is officially joining the race to tokenize real-world assets.

According to a recent filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday, Fidelity is looking to register an “OnChain” share class for their Fidelity Treasury Digital Fund, known by its ticker FYHXX. This “OnChain” class aims to use blockchain technology as its transfer agent. FYHXX itself is a fund that holds cash and U.S. Treasury securities, having launched in late 2023.

The filing also reveals that this “OnChain” version of the fund is currently planned to operate on the Ethereum (ETH) network. However, Fidelity isn’t ruling out expanding to other blockchains down the line. It’s important to note that this registration is still subject to the green light from regulators, but the anticipated go-live date is set for May 30th.

This move by Fidelity comes amidst a broader trend in the financial industry. Global banks and major asset managers are increasingly exploring the potential of blockchain technology for traditional financial instruments. We’re talking about putting things like government bonds, credit products, and various funds onto blockchain rails. This process, often called the “tokenization of real-world assets” (RWAs), is gaining traction because it promises operational improvements, greater efficiency, and the benefit of faster, always-on transaction settlements.

Fidelity, managing a staggering $5.8 trillion in assets, stands out as the latest heavyweight financial institution to jump into the rapidly growing space of tokenized U.S. Treasuries.

Just look at Blackrock (BLK). They partnered with digital asset firm Securitize to launch their own similar tokenized T-bill fund, BUIDL, back in March. And BUIDL has already surged to become the market leader, holding close to $1.5 billion in assets, according to data from rwa.xyz.

Even Franklin Templeton, who pioneered the first on-chain money market product, has seen their fund grow to $689 million in assets since it launched in 2021.

The entire market for tokenized U.S. Treasuries is currently valued at a substantial $4.77 billion. What’s even more impressive is its explosive growth, increasing by almost 500% over the past year alone, as reported by rwa.xyz.

It’s worth remembering that Fidelity is already a dominant force in the U.S. spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) market. Their FBTC and FETH ETFs are massive, holding $16.5 billion and $780 million respectively, according to SoSoValue data. This latest move further solidifies Fidelity’s commitment and expanding presence in the digital asset landscape.