Franklin Templeton seeks SEC approval to launch new crypto index ETF

Franklin Templeton Investments is seeking regulatory approval to launch a new crypto index exchange-traded fund, the firm said on Thursday, as asset managers hope to cash in on the crypto wave amid Donald Trump’s victory in U.S. presidential elections.

Trump embraced digital assets during his campaign, promising to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet” and to accumulate a national stockpile of bitcoin.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, which had long attempted to block ETFs from investing in bitcoin citing investor protection concerns, approved bitcoin and ether ETFs last year. Since then, the products have allowed more investors including institutional investors to gain exposure to bitcoin.

Several firms have applied to seek the green light for other crypto coins’ ETFs like Solana and XRP. Their approvals are still pending.

“The fund currently may not hold any digital asset other than bitcoin and ether. It is uncertain whether any digital assets other than bitcoin and ether may in the future be added to the Underlying Index,” Franklin Templeton said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.

It gives Franklin the room to modify its ETFs if other coins gets the SEC’s nod.

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