Franklin Templeton Launches New Crypto ETF: EZPZ Offers Exposure to Bitcoin and Ethereum

Franklin Templeton, a prominent global investment management firm, has launched its latest crypto exchange-traded product, the Franklin Crypto Index ETF (EZPZ). This marks the company's third major crypto ETF, following the Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC) and Franklin Ethereum ETF (EZET), which were approved in January and June, respectively.

The new ETF, which Franklin Templeton filed for approval with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in August 2024, will trade under the ticker EZPZ. The fund aims to offer exposure to the price movements of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), reflecting their market capitalizations as the two largest digital assets.

Notably, Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs remain the only single-asset spot crypto ETFs in the U.S. David Mann, global head of ETF product and capital markets at Franklin Templeton, stated, "EZPZ offers a convenient and low-cost way to gain exposure to the two most established and largest blockchain ecosystems. In the longer-term, the ETP intends to add any new coins as they become eligible for index inclusion. It is our hope this ETP evolves to represent beta for crypto."

Franklin Templeton's new fund will be custodied by Coinbase, with an initial weighting of 82% Bitcoin and 18% Ethereum. The sponsor fee for EZPZ is 0.19%, but Franklin Templeton plans to waive the fee until Aug. 31, 2025, or until the fund reaches its first $10 billion in assets.

In recent months, asset managers have been increasingly introducing spot crypto exchange-traded funds to the market, including altcoin-focused products for XRP, Solana, Litecoin, and Dogecoin. The SEC has acknowledged most of these filings, setting a timeline for eventual approval or rejection.

On Feb. 20, the Securities and Exchange Commission acknowledged receipt of 21Shares' form 19b-4 filing, which seeks approval to add staking to the issuer's Ethereum ETF. This development comes as multiple issuers push for ETH ETF staking, a move experts say could significantly boost inflows into Ethereum spot ETFs.