New Franklin Crypto Index ETF Seeks Approval to Expand Trading for Crypto Investors

Key Points:

• Franklin Templeton is seeking to launch a new cryptocurrency-focused ETF, the Franklin Crypto Index ETF, tracking Bitcoin and Ethereum.
• The ETF, if approved, will trade on the Cboe BZX Exchange under the ticker “EZPZ,” with Coinbase Custody Trust and Bank of New York Mellon handling asset custody and administrative duties.

Franklin Templeton is getting ready to venture into cryptocurrency investment with the filing of a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) application on August 16.

Read more: Franklin Templeton Money Market Fund Launches on Layer 2 Arbitrum

Franklin Crypto Index ETF Awaits Approval

The ETF would have the proposed name Franklin Crypto Index ETF and offer an investors’ broadly diversified cryptocurrency portfolio while tracking the performance of the CF Benchmarks Digital Asset Index, which, to date, includes Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The fund will try to track the index by investing these digital assets in proportions comparable in weight to that of the index. However, it will be free to add more cryptocurrencies while the market matures and regulatory frameworks unfold.

The fund’s digital assets will be custody by Coinbase Custody Trust Company. The Bank of New York Mellon will manage cash with associated administrative duties.

The Franklin Crypto Index ETF will trade on the Cboe BZX Exchange with the ticker symbol “EZPZ.” Of special note, though, is that the Cboe hopes for approval to facilitate in-kind creation and redemption of ETF shares in digital assets, a likely move to smooth the trading process.

Continued Institutional Interest in Crypto ETFs

The move underlines the growing institutional interest in cryptocurrency investment products. The Franklin Crypto Index ETF will be entering a competitive market pitted against the Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index ETF, which became the first crypto index ETF to seek regulatory clearance.

Other asset managers, such as Grayscale and VanEck, are getting ready to launch similar products, a signal of a broader trend toward the integration of digital assets into diversified investment portfolios.