Global asset manager Franklin Templeton has filed with the SEC for two new ETFs that will reinvest stock dividends into Bitcoin. The funds, which track VettaFi indices, will start with a 5% Bitcoin allocation capped at 20%. This move is part of the firm's broader digital assets expansion and adds to a wave of over 100 crypto ETFs expected to launch in 2026 following new SEC listing standards.
Franklin Templeton Bitcoin DRIP ETFs
- ▪Asset manager Franklin Templeton filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for two new exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
- ▪The funds could become effective around 75 days after the filing, with a potential launch in early September 2026
- ▪The proposed ETFs are the Franklin U.S. Equity Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF and the Franklin U.S. Innovation Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF
Dividend reinvestment into Bitcoin
- ▪The ETFs are designed to hold a basket of U.S. stocks and systematically reinvest the dividends those companies pay into Bitcoin
- ▪The funds track new indices from VettaFi, one based on a U.S. large-cap 500 index and the other on a U.S. innovation 100 index
Index composition with Bitcoin caps
- ▪The underlying indices are designed to launch with a 95% allocation to equities and a 5% allocation to Bitcoin
- ▪Bitcoin exposure in the funds is capped at 20% between rebalances
- ▪During quarterly rebalances, Bitcoin exposure above 5% would be reduced to 4.5%
Crypto ETF market surge
- ▪The filing is part of a market trend, with analysts predicting more than 100 crypto ETFs could launch in 2026
- ▪The surge in crypto ETF filings followed the SEC's publication of generic listing standards for crypto-linked funds in late 2025
Franklin Templeton digital assets expansion
- ▪Franklin Templeton has also partnered with Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, to explore tokenizing investment products
- ▪The filing extends Franklin Templeton's push into digital assets, which includes its own spot Bitcoin ETF (EZBC)
- ▪Franklin Templeton's spot bitcoin ETF (EZBC) held $358.9 million in net assets as of June 19, 2026
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