Franklin Templeton Wins Nasdaq Nod for Two New Bitcoin ETFs

Key Insights:

• Franklin Templeton registers two new Bitcoin ETFs for Nasdaq trading.
• FBEQ and FIBT charge management fees of 0.09% and 0.19%.
• Nasdaq registration is a listing step, not SEC approval.

Franklin Templeton filed to register two Bitcoin ETFs for Nasdaq listing, pairing U.S. equity indexes with dividend-funded bitcoin exposure. The October 22, 2026, Form 8-A names the funds under tickers FBEQ and FIBT.

Their strategies direct stock dividends into bitcoin, following initial allocations that combine equities with bitcoin exposure through exchange-traded products.

Franklin Templeton Bitcoin ETFs Advance Through Nasdaq Registration

According to the filing, Franklin Templeton ETF Trust registered both series under Section 12(b) on the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC. The document also incorporates a Form N-1A amendment that the trust filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that day.

That registration follows an earlier filing covering the same bitcoin dividend funds. However, Nasdaq registration is a listing step, not SEC approval of the securities.

Franklin Templeton Bitcoin ETFs Registration | Source: SEC

Meanwhile, the amendment’s cover page checks October 27, 2026, under paragraph (b). Both Form 485BPOS prospectus covers carry that date and state that the SEC has neither approved nor disapproved the securities.

Within those documents, the two Bitcoin ETFs reference two separate VettaFi equity benchmarks. FBEQ follows the VettaFi US Large-Cap 500 Bitcoin DRIP Index, which comprises the 500 largest U.S. companies.

By comparison, FIBT follows the VettaFi US Innovation 100 Bitcoin DRIP Index. For that benchmark, the equity component includes the top 100 U.S. issuers listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC.

Franklin Templeton Details Dividend Rules and Fund Fees

Despite those different equity universes, both indexes began with matching allocations. Each assigned 95% to its component securities and the remaining 5% to bitcoin.

Subsequently, each index reinvests all stock dividends, including regular and special distributions, into Bitcoin. The stated methodology says purchases occur at the market open on the day after the dividend ex-date.

For the Bitcoin ETFs themselves, exposure to bitcoin comes through exchange-traded products. These holdings include bitcoin-backed ETPs sponsored by affiliates of the funds’ investment manager.

Alongside those investment arrangements, Franklin Templeton lists different management fees in the prospectuses. FBEQ carries a 0.09% management fee, while FIBT charges 0.19%.

However, both prospectuses also include a voluntary waiver from Advisory Services covering part of the unified management fee. FIBT presents that waiver after its 0.19% fee line, matching the provision included for FBEQ.

Specifically, the waiver equals sponsor fees that Advisory Services or its affiliates actually earned from certain underlying investments. It covers fund assets invested in other exchange-traded products sponsored by those entities.

To illustrate that provision, the prospectuses identify an affiliated spot bitcoin ETP as an example. Franklin Templeton includes these fee arrangements alongside the funds’ stated investment strategies.

Other ETF Developments Include NEAR and Leveraged Products

Beyond the Franklin Templeton Bitcoin ETFs, Bitwise launched the first NEAR ETF at the end of September. The fund began trading on NYSE Arca, adding NEAR to the list of cryptocurrencies with U.S. spot ETFs.

In its official announcement on X, Bitwise identified NRR as the new fund’s ticker. The asset manager said the product gives investors exposure to the agentic economy.

That focus corresponds with an area receiving substantial attention from the NEAR protocol. The announcement linked the fund’s exposure to that specific part of the network’s development.

Separately, the SEC approved Cboe BZX’s proposal for six triple-leveraged products on October 2. The decision included a 3x Bitcoin ETF and a 3x Ether ETF. Under that order, the commission cleared exchange listing through BZX Rule 14.11(e)(4). However, the approval did not initiate trading in the products.

Beyond the Bitcoin ETF category, the decision covered Ether, gold, silver, crude oil, and natural gas. The single order therefore addressed six underlying assets within Cboe BZX’s proposed leveraged product lineup.

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