Franklin Templeton Trust Files to Register Two Bitcoin Dividend ETFs, Naming Nasdaq

Franklin Templeton ETF Trust filed Thursday to register shares of two Bitcoin dividend strategy funds, naming Nasdaq as their exchange as it moves to direct stock payouts into Bitcoin exposure.

The trust’s Form 8-A, filed Thursday, Oct. 22, names The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC as the exchange for both funds. A separate SEC filing lists Tuesday, Oct. 27, as the effective date of a post-effective prospectus amendment. The registration does not describe a separate Nasdaq approval decision, and the filings give no first trading date.

The funds are the Franklin US Equity Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF and the Franklin US Innovation Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF. Their indexes start with a 95% allocation to equities and 5% Bitcoin exposure. The prospectus allows that exposure through exchange-traded products, options, futures and depositary receipts; it does not establish that either fund will hold Bitcoin directly.

The strategy directs regular and special dividends from stocks toward Bitcoin exposure when the market opens in the session after each stock’s ex-dividend date. An ex-dividend date is the point from which a buyer of the stock no longer qualifies for that dividend.

The prospectus limits Bitcoin exposure to 20%. At a quarterly rebalance, an allocation above 5% is lowered to 4.5%. If exposure rises above 20% between rebalances, it is reset to 4.5% at the close of the second business day after the threshold is exceeded.

The equity indexes draw from the 500 largest U.S. companies and the top 100 U.S. issuers listed on Nasdaq, with finance companies excluded. Franklin Templeton’s assets under management stood at $1.8 trillion on Sept. 30. The prospectus amendment’s effective date is Tuesday, Oct. 27; no trading start date is specified.