Franklin Templeton launches its Bitcoin and Ether ETF “EZPZ”
Franklin Templeton has launched its latest crypto exchange-traded product, the Franklin Crypto Index ETF.
This marks the asset manager’s third major crypto exchange-traded fund. The other two digital asset funds include the Franklin Bitcoin ETF (ticker: EZBC) and Franklin Ethereum ETF (ticker: EZET), approved in January and June, respectively.
Franklin Templeton announced the launch of the Franklin Crypto Index ETF on Feb. 20.
The fund, which Franklin Templeton filed for approval with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in August 2024, will trade under the ticker EZPZ.
The new exchange-traded product will offer exposure to the price movements of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). EZPZ seeks to reflect the market capitalizations of BTC and ETH, the two largest digital assets.
Notably, Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs remain the only single-asset spot crypto ETFs in the U.S.
“EZPZ offers a convenient and low-cost way to gain exposure to the two most established and largest blockchain ecosystems. In the longer-term, the ETP intends to add any new coins as they become eligible for index inclusion. It is our hope this ETP evolves to represent beta for crypto,” David Mann, global head of ETF product and capital markets at Franklin Templeton, said.
Franklin Templeton’s new fund will be custodied by Coinbase. Currently, the fund’s weighting consists of 82% Bitcoin and 18% Ethereum.
The sponsor fee for EZPZ is 0.19%. However, Franklin Templeton plans to waive the fee until Aug. 31, 2025, or until the fund reaches its first $10 billion in assets.
In recent months, asset managers have ramped up efforts to introduce more spot crypto exchange-traded funds to the market, including altcoin-focused products for XRP, Solana, Litecoin, and Dogecoin.
The SEC has acknowledged most of these filings, setting in motion a timeline towards the eventual approval or rejection.
On Feb. 20, the Securities and Exchange Commission acknowledged receipt of 21Shares’ form 19b-4 filing, which seeks approval to add staking to the issuer’s Ethereum ETF. This development comes as multiple issuers push for ETH ETF staking, a move experts say could catapult inflows into Ethereum spot ETFs to new highs.
