What to know:
- Franklin Templeton files two ETFs that route stock dividends into Bitcoin exposure.
- New funds start with 95% large-cap equities and 5% Bitcoin-linked market exposure.
- Filing adds another Bitcoin product to Franklin Templeton’s digital asset strategy.
Franklin Templeton has filed for two exchange-traded funds. The products would route stock dividend income into Bitcoin exposure. The filing adds a new structure to its digital asset lineup as it links equity portfolios with blockchain-based investment strategies for investors.
A Thursday registration filing named two proposed funds. These are the Franklin US Equity Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF and the Franklin US Innovation Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF. The filing listed September 1, 2026, as the expected effective date for both products.
Also Read: Bitgo Europe Expands MiCAR Compliance Support Across the EEA
Franklin Templeton ETFs Use VettaFi Indexes for Bitcoin Exposure
Both ETFs would follow indexes managed under VettaFi methodology. The first would track the VettaFi US Large-Cap 500 Bitcoin DRIP Index. The second would use an innovation-focused version of the same dividend reinvestment approach.
In the structure, the dividends of the stock portfolio will not be held in cash form. The dividends will also not be distributed directly to the investors. Instead, the dividends will flow into the Bitcoin-related assets in accordance with the fund’s structure.
According to the filing, the Bitcoin position can be obtained using various instruments such as spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products, futures, options, or other investment vehicles. The initial asset portfolio includes 95% large-cap equities and a 5% Bitcoin position.
Additionally, Franklin Templeton provided controls on the Bitcoin position in the filing. The quarterly rebalance will bring the Bitcoin position exceeding 5% down to 4.5%.
Additionally, another control will limit the Bitcoin position to 20% between the rebalance periods due to changes in the market price of Bitcoin.
Franklin Templeton Expands Digital Asset Lineup With New ETFs
On April 30, the equity index included about 498 securities. According to the filing, companies in the index have market value between $7.5 billion and $4.9 trillion. The holdings covered large public companies listed in the United States market.
The new ETFs will be part of Franklin Templeton’s digital assets offering. The company has crypto spot ETFs, tokenized ETFs, and blockchain-based investment vehicles through various investor channels. With the new filing, it would enable a dividend-related path to Bitcoin for equity fund investors.
SoSoValue data shows that the firm’s Bitcoin spot ETF, EZBC, had $358.9 million in net assets on Thursday. In addition, it had also generated $329.6 million in cumulative net inflows. These numbers illustrate the firm’s current Bitcoin spot ETF portfolio.
The filing is in line with Franklin Templeton’s other digital asset offerings recently. The company announced on June 15th that it was working with Ondo Finance to provide tokenized ETFs for non-US investors.
Earlier, it partnered BENJI with MoonPay Trade and Payward to gain access to stablecoins, collateralization, and cash management on Kraken.
Also Read: Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF Surpasses 1 Million HYPE Tokens in Holdings
Be the first to comment