Franklin Templeton Names Nasdaq for Two Bitcoin ETFs

Franklin Templeton has named Nasdaq as the exchange for two proposed ETFs that would combine U.S. stocks with Bitcoin-related investments funded in part by stock dividends. The filings identify the Franklin US Equity Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF and the Franklin US Innovation Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF, but do not establish when trading will begin. A Form 8A filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on October 22 names The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC as the funds’ exchange. A separate post-effective amendment filed by Franklin Templeton ETF Trust is scheduled to take effect October 27, 2026. That date concerns the registration’s effectiveness, not confirmation that the ETFs will begin trading then. The proposed funds would each start with 95% of their portfolios in equities and 5% in Bitcoin-related investments. The equity fund is designed around a large-cap U.S. company index, while the innovation fund would follow an index of large companies selected from a Nasdaq-focused universe. The innovation index excludes finance companies, according to the fund materials. Rather than pay stock dividends to shareholders or use them to buy more stocks, the strategy directs regular and...