Franklin Templeton has registered two Bitcoin dividend reinvestment ETFs for Nasdaq trading, moving the $1.8 trillion asset manager closer to launching funds that automatically convert stock dividends into Bitcoin exposure. According to an October 22 SEC filing, the Franklin US Equity Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF and the Franklin US Innovation Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF have completed securities registration under Section 12(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The proposed tickers are FBEQ and FIBT, though no launch date has been announced.
Both funds are designed to initially allocate 95% to US stocks and 5% to Bitcoin investments, with regular and special stock dividends directed toward Bitcoin exposure on the business day following the relevant ex-dividend date. Bitcoin exposure is capped at 20%. During quarterly rebalancing, any Bitcoin allocation above 5% will be reduced to 4.5%, and if the allocation exceeds 20% between scheduled reviews it will be reduced to 4.5% by the close of the second business day after the breach. The indexes will use the Kaiko Bitcoin New York Reference Rate at 4 p.m. Eastern Time. Both ETFs will charge an annual management fee of 0.09% and track separate VettaFi indexes: one based on a 500-company large-cap US equity universe and the other on 100 large companies from an innovation-oriented Nasdaq universe.
The Franklin filings add to the asset manager's crypto footprint. It already operates the Franklin Bitcoin ETF under the ticker EZBC, which had attracted approximately $335 million in cumulative net inflows as of October 22. Franklin Templeton had first proposed the DRIP products in June and has since amended registration documents several times.
On the same day, United States spot Bitcoin ETFs posted $635.49 million in net outflows, erasing three consecutive days of inflows in a single session, according to SoSoValue data. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) led withdrawals with $254.05 million, followed by Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) at $217.46 million. ARK 21Shares' ARKB lost $109.43 million, Grayscale's GBTC lost $29.53 million and Bitwise's BITB dropped $27.35 million. Morgan Stanley's MSBT was the only fund to attract fresh capital, posting a $2.33 million net inflow. The outflow marked the largest single-day net outflow since 25 June.
Cumulative net inflows into US spot Bitcoin ETFs stood at $57.32 billion after the session, with total net assets at $104.71 billion, roughly 6.41% of Bitcoin's market capitalization. Bitcoin closed 22 October at $81,416.09 on Binance, down 3.18% from the prior session, while Ether traded below $2,400. CoinGlass data showed roughly $406 million in crypto positions were liquidated within 24 hours, affecting nearly 90,000 traders. The Federal Open Market Committee meets on 28 October and the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index is due on 29 October, events that could determine whether the ETF outflow is a one-day repositioning or the start of sustained institutional de-risking.
