Nasdaq has approved the listing of two Franklin Templeton ETFs that direct stock dividends into Bitcoin. The funds combine US equity exposure with a capped Bitcoin allocation and charge a 0.09% management fee.
Franklin Templeton, a global asset manager with $1.8 trillion in assets under management, has received Nasdaq approval to list two Bitcoin ETFs built around a DRIP strategy. The products move the company closer to launching funds that systematically convert stock dividends into BTC exposure.
How the two funds work
According to an SEC filing, the Franklin US Equity Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF and the Franklin US Innovation Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF are cleared to trade on Nasdaq under the tickers FBEQ and FIBT. Both reinvest dividends from US stocks into Bitcoin.
Both track VettaFi indexes that pair traditional equity exposure with a rules-based Bitcoin allocation. Each starts with 95% in US stocks, drawn from either a large-cap 500 universe or a 100-stock innovation-focused Nasdaq list, and 5% in Bitcoin-related instruments.
Instead of paying out dividends or buying more shares, the indexes direct regular and special dividends into Bitcoin exposure on the day after each ex-dividend date.
Caps, fees and existing Bitcoin product
The Bitcoin weight is capped at 20%, and any allocation above 5% is cut back to 4.5%. Exposure comes through Bitcoin ETPs and other instruments offered by Franklin Templeton, and both ETFs carry a management fee of 0.09%.
Franklin Templeton already runs a spot Bitcoin ETF, EZBC, which has recorded total inflows of $335 million. It took in $7.3 million on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the BTC price has dropped below $81,500 amid several headwinds for the broader crypto market. Trading volume fell 33% over the past 24 hours amid options expiry.
Source: CoinGape
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