Franklin Templeton has completed the final regulatory steps needed to list two new exchange-traded funds on Nasdaq that combine U.S. stock portfolios with a structured mechanism for accumulating Bitcoin exposure. The funds, which track specialized indexes, will direct regular and special dividends from their equity holdings into Bitcoin-related assets rather than reinvesting them in additional shares of the same companies.

According to a Form 8-A filing submitted on October 22, the Franklin US Equity Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF and the Franklin US Innovation Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF are now registered for trading. Proposed tickers are FBEQ and FIBT. A related prospectus lists an effective date of October 27, though no official launch date has been announced.

Fund Structure and Dividend Mechanism

Both products begin with a target allocation of 95% to U.S. equities and 5% to Bitcoin-related investments. The equity portion of the Franklin US Equity Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF follows the VettaFi US Large-Cap 500 Bitcoin DRIP Index, which draws from the 500 largest publicly traded U.S. companies by float-adjusted market capitalization. The companion fund tracks the VettaFi US Innovation 100 Bitcoin DRIP Index, focused on the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on Nasdaq.

The core innovation lies in the dividend reinvestment plan. Cash dividends paid by the underlying stocks—both ordinary and special—are used to purchase Bitcoin exposure on the business day immediately following the relevant ex-dividend date. Investors hold shares of the ETF itself; they do not receive Bitcoin directly. The value of those shares moves with the performance of the equity holdings and the Bitcoin-linked instruments.

Bitcoin exposure is obtained through eligible vehicles such as Bitcoin exchange-traded products (including Franklin Templeton’s own spot Bitcoin ETF),futures, options, or depositary receipts, in some cases via a Cayman Islands subsidiary. The funds do not hold Bitcoin on-chain.

Both ETFs carry an annual management fee of 0.09%. Portfolio managers include Dina Ting, Hailey Harris, Joe Diederich and Basit Amin, with Franklin Advisory Services as adviser and Franklin Templeton Institutional as sub-adviser.

Context Within Franklin Templeton’s Digital Asset Activity

The new products expand the firm’s existing crypto offerings. Franklin Templeton already operates the Franklin Bitcoin ETF under the ticker EZBC, a spot product that has attracted approximately $335 million in cumulative net inflows. The DRIP funds take a different approach by embedding a measured Bitcoin allocation inside conventional equity portfolios and allowing that allocation to grow passively through dividend flows.

Franklin Templeton first filed plans for the two funds in June. Subsequent amendments refined the structure, indexes, fee schedule and allocation controls before the October 22 registration completed the process for Nasdaq listing.

The firm has also advanced other digital-asset initiatives in recent months, including regulatory clearances and partnerships related to its tokenized money-market fund. The DRIP ETFs represent a distinct product category aimed at investors seeking equity income strategies that incorporate gradual Bitcoin exposure without requiring separate cryptocurrency accounts or direct purchases.

Prospectus materials note that Bitcoin price volatility, transaction costs, custody considerations and potential regulatory changes could affect fund performance. The indexes rely on the Kaiko Bitcoin New York Reference Rate at 4 p.m. Eastern Time for valuation purposes.