Franklin Templeton Joins Spot Ethereum ETF Race
12 Feb, 2024 ● Crypto News
Franklin Templeton, a prominent asset management firm on Wall Street, has joined the ranks of firms applying for a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States.
On February 12, the $1.5 trillion asset management company filed an S-1 document with the United States Securities Exchange Commission.
If granted approval, the ETF would be named the “Franklin Ethereum ETF” and listed on the Chicago Board Options Exchange.
Notably, Franklin has indicated its intention to stake a portion of the ETF's Ether holdings to generate additional income, a strategy akin to ARK 21Shares' recent S-1 filing revision.
The filing specifies that Franklin may stake a portion of the fund's assets through trusted staking providers, potentially including an affiliate of the firm.
It plans to stake Ether held in the trust's cold storage wallets, with the trust receiving staking rewards treated as income.
Other applicants seeking approval for spot Ether ETFs from the SEC include BlackRock, VanEck, Fidelity, Invesco Galaxy, Grayscale, and Hashdex.
The SEC is expected to decide on VanEck's application by May 23, ARK 21Shares by May 24, Hashdex by May 30, Grayscale by June 18, and Invesco by July 5.
Fidelity and BlackRock's applications are slated for decisions by August 3 and August 7, respectively.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart anticipates decisions on all applicants by May 23, aligning with the timeline observed for spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Seyffart's colleague, Eric Balchunas, has recently adjusted the likelihood of spot Ether ETF approval in 2024 from 70% to 60% as of January 30.
Franklin was among the ten ETF issuers that launched a spot Bitcoin ETF in the US last month.
Despite entering the spot Ether ETF arena later, Franklin has expressed positive sentiments regarding the network fundamentals of Ethereum, Solana, and other blockchains, hinting at potential expansion beyond Bitcoin.
Sources:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/franklin-templeton-joins-spot-ethereum-etf-race
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2011535/000113743924000573/fets1022024.htm
https://twitter.com/FTI_US/status/1747715395614867735
