Franklin Templeton Wins Nasdaq Approval for Two Bitcoin Dividend-Reinvestment ETFs
Key Takeaways
- •Franklin Templeton, which manages $1.8 trillion in assets, has secured Nasdaq approval for two new Bitcoin-focused exchange-traded funds, as disclosed in an SEC filing.
- •The two products, FBEQ and FIBT, will direct 95% of their capital to U.S. equities and 5% to Bitcoin-related assets, converting stock dividend payouts into growing Bitcoin exposure instead of reinvesting them in additional shares.
- •Both funds will track indexes built by VettaFi, with FBEQ focused on large-cap U.S. companies and FIBT centered on innovation stocks.
- •Franklin Templeton already offers the spot Bitcoin ETF EZBC, which was among the first wave of spot Bitcoin funds approved by the SEC in January 2024 and has drawn roughly $335 million in net inflows.
- •The new dividend-based structures extend the firm's crypto lineup beyond direct spot exposure and broaden the range of crypto-linked ETF options available to U.S. investors.
Franklin Templeton, the global investment management firm overseeing $1.8 trillion in assets under management, has been approved to launch two new Bitcoin-focused exchange-traded funds on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the firm has registered two investment vehicles designed to systematically convert U.S. stock dividends into Bitcoin exposure. The products are named the Franklin US Equity Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF (FBEQ) and the Franklin US Innovation Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF (FIBT).
A Dividend-Based Approach to Bitcoin Exposure
Unlike traditional Bitcoin ETFs, which track the price of the leading cryptocurrency, the new products combine conventional stock investments with a Bitcoin dividend-reinvestment strategy.
Dividend reinvestment is a long-standing feature of equity investing, with so-called DRIPs automatically converting cash payouts into additional shares of the underlying stock. These funds redirect that familiar mechanism: they will allocate 95% of their capital to U.S. equities and 5% to Bitcoin-related assets, and rather than reinvesting stock dividends into additional shares, the vehicles will direct those dividends toward building greater Bitcoin exposure over time. In effect, Bitcoin exposure accumulates from the dividend income generated by each fund's equity holdings.
Both investment vehicles will track indexes created by VettaFi. The FBEQ product follows large-cap U.S. companies, while the FIBT product focuses on innovation stocks.
Franklin Templeton Broadens Its Crypto Footprint
The announcement marks another step in Franklin Templeton's expanding presence in the cryptocurrency sector. The firm already offers the Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC), a spot Bitcoin investment product that was among the first wave of spot Bitcoin ETFs cleared by the SEC in January 2024 and has attracted approximately $335 million in net inflows to date.
The newly registered ETFs differ in that they embed cryptocurrency exposure within traditional equity investment structures, using dividend income as the channel for accumulating Bitcoin over time. With the Nasdaq approval secured, the products extend the firm's crypto lineup beyond direct spot exposure and add to the range of crypto-linked ETF structures available to U.S. investors since spot Bitcoin funds first began trading in January 2024.
