The 169-year-old Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. has purchased $100 million in bitcoin for its general investment firm, as well as a $5 million minority stake in institutional cryptocurrency provider NYDIG.

The Toronto Stock Exchange has listed its first Ethereum-based exchange-traded fund, after the 3iQ Ether fund raised more than $75 million in contributions from investors.

Fidelity Digital Assets will reportedly start letting its institutional customers pledge bitcoin as collateral against cash loans, thanks to a new partnership with blockchain startup BlockFi.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• 169-Year-Old Insurance Firm MassMutual Makes $100 Million Bet on Bitcoin
• Ethereum ETF Launches in Canada After Raising $75 Million
• Fidelity Digital To Offer Bitcoin-Backed Cash Loans to Institutional Customers

169-Year-Old Insurance Firm MassMutual Makes $100 Million Bet on Bitcoin

The 169-year-old Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. has purchased $100 million in bitcoin for its general investment firm, as well as a $5 million minority stake in institutional cryptocurrency provider NYDIG.

NYDIG already keeps more than $2.3 billion in cryptoassets for its clients, and will now provide custody services for MassMutual’s bitcoins. The BTC investment will reportedly represent 0.04% of the general investment account of nearly $235 billion MassMutual had as of Sept. 30.

A company spokeswoman, Chelsea Haraty, was quoted as saying:

“We see this initial investment as a first step, and like any investment, may explore future opportunities.”

The investment comes shortly after the price of bitcoin hit a new all-time high, after more than doubling this year. MassMutual joins other companies like Square and MicroStrategy who invested in the flagship cryptocurrency.

Ethereum ETF Launches in Canada After Raising $75 Million

The Toronto Stock Exchange has listed its first Ethereum-based exchange-traded fund, after the 3iQ Ether fund raised more than $75 million in contributions from investors.

3iQ announced that The Ether Fund is now listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The firm holds nearly 134,000 ETH managed by Gemini Custody services, and manages The Ether Fund itself. The fund is trading under the symbol QETH.U.

The firm has successfully launched a similar bitcoin fund earlier this year. The ether product’0s listing, it claims, marks a “world first,” and is aimed to provide investors the ability to buy shares in the fund and receive exposure to ETH’s price changes.

Fidelity Digital To Offer Bitcoin-Backed Cash Loans to Institutional Customers

Fidelity Digital Assets will reportedly start letting its institutional customers pledge bitcoin as collateral against cash loans, thanks to a new partnership with blockchain startup BlockFi.

The firm will hold the BTC pledged as collateral but will not make the loans itself. Fidelity Digital Assets, it’s worth noting, is a unit of Fidelity Investments, which has over $3.3 trillion in assets under management.

Tom Jessop, president of Fidelity Digital Assets was quoted as saying that the target is bitcoin investors who want to turn their BTC holdings into cash without selling the flagship cryptocurrency, and potential customers may include hedge funds, over-the-counter trading desks, and cryptocurrency miners.

Fidelity has said institutional interest in the space is rising, and a survey it conducted earlier this year found 36% of respondents had cryptoassets in their portfolios. More than six out of 10 showed interest in bitcoin and other cryptos, up from 47% from a survey conducted last year.

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