Franklin Templeton Seeks SEC Nod for Multi-Crypto ETF

Generated by AI AgentCoin World
Friday, Feb 7, 2025 10:50 am ET1min read
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Franklin Templeton, a multinational asset manager, has submitted an amended S-1 filing for its Franklin Crypto Index ETF, seeking approval to add tokens to the fund over time. The filing, submitted on Thursday, states that the exchange-traded fund will initially track Bitcoin and Ethereum, with a weighting of 86.31% to BTC and 13.69% to ETH.

The filing does not commit to adding any other cryptocurrencies, clarifying that "it is uncertain whether any digital assets other than Bitcoin and Ethereum may in the future be added to the Underlying Index." However, it also does not rule out additions, taking an almost open-ended approach that suggests more tokens could be added as and when the SEC permits.

The S-1 form details that the Underlying Index only includes digital assets that are determined by the Index Provider as being in conformance with prevailing capital markets regulations of major financial jurisdictions including the United States. More specifically, Franklin Templeton writes in the application that they would require that "the SEC has approved or permitted an exchange-traded product/fund" for a given token before the firm added it to the Franklin Crypto Index ETF.

The company already offers a Bitcoin ETF, which was one of the first batch of ETFs to gain SEC approval in January 2024. If approved, the Franklin Crypto Index ETF will also list on the Cboe BZX Exchange, and for some commentators, it could be a big breakthrough.

Coinpass CEO and co-founder Jeff Hancock, speaking with a source, describes the launch of multi-currency ETFs as an "inevitability," and suggests that the approval of such ETFs would bring "much-needed liquidity" to the market, as well as provide institutions with "unlimited options" in terms of asset allocation.

Franklin Templeton had gained approval for the original version of the fund, when it was envisioned as investing exclusively in Bitcoin and Ethereum. In a release dated December 19, 2024, the SEC granted accelerated approval of Franklin's application, which would have fast tracked the ETF for listing.

Such filings come amid applications for ETFs for cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin and Ethereum, with Bitwise and Grayscale both filing in January for Dogecoin ETFs, and with