Franklin Templeton Submits Bitcoin & Ethereum Index ETF Proposal to SEC

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SEC has received a proposed listing and trading of the Franklin Templeton Bitcoin & Ethereum Crypto Index ETF. The new ETF, managed by Franklin Templeton, aims to give investors exposure to both Bitcoin and Ethereum by combining these two major crypto assets into a single index fund.

This ETF would allow investors to gain exposure to both Bitcoin and Ethereum without directly owning these volatile assets. The trust’s assets will consist of Bitcoin, Ethereum, cash and short-term instruments with a maturity of less than three months.

The fund will be monitored by BNY Mellon, which serves as both custodian and transfer agent, while Coinbase Custody will manage the digital assets.

The Franklin Crypto Index ETF aims to mirror the performance of an index comprising Bitcoin and Ether based on the CF Institutional Digital Asset Index, a benchmark designed to track the largest digital assets in line with existing capital markets.

According to the filing, the ETF will be the first of its kind to hold both Bitcoin and Ether, making it a unique asset in the digital currency ETF space.

Shares of the Franklin Crypto Index ETF will be issued in blocks of 50,000 shares, with the value reflecting the net asset value (NAV) of the Bitcoin and Ether held by the fund. The fund will not directly engage in activities such as staking or generating income from the digital assets it owns.

The SEC usually approves crypto-related ETFs when strong measures are in place to prevent fraud and manipulation. In this case, the proposal highlights existing supervisory arrangements with regulated futures markets, such as CME Bitcoin and Ether Futures, to ensure safe and transparent trading of underlying assets.

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