Franklin Templeton ETF Trust filed a Form 8-A with the SEC on October 22, 2026, registering two bitcoin DRIP index ETFs for listing on Nasdaq. The funds carry the tickers FBEQ and FIBT.
The Essentials
- Each index reinvests all regular and special dividends into bitcoin at the market open on the day following the dividend ex-date.
- Each index began with a 5% allocation to bitcoin and a 95% allocation to the component securities of the index.
- The management fee is 0.09% for FBEQ and 0.19% for FIBT, per Franklin Templeton’s prospectuses.
- Bitcoin exposure comes through exchange-traded products, including bitcoin-backed ETPs sponsored by affiliates of the Fund’s investment manager.
Nasdaq registration is a listing step, not SEC approval
Franklin Templeton ETF Trust’s Form 8-A registers shares of both series on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC under Section 12(b). It also incorporates a Form N-1A amendment filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 22, 2026. The registration follows the earlier Franklin Templeton bitcoin dividend ETFs filing for the same funds.
The amendment’s cover page checks the box for October 27, 2026 pursuant to paragraph (b). Both Form 485BPOS prospectus covers carry the same date and say the SEC has not approved or disapproved these securities.
Some summaries of the filing call it an approval. A Form 8-A registers a class of securities with an exchange, which makes it a listing step rather than an approval.
🚨BREAKING: $1.8T Franklin Templeton Bitcoin DRIP Strategy ETFs Get Nasdaq Listing Approval Franklin US Equity Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF (FBEQ) and Franklin US Innovation Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF (FIBT) are cleared to list and trade on Nasdaq. Both funds would maintain a 95% U.S. equity and 5% bitcoin allocation by automatically reinvesting stock dividends into Bitcoin ETFs, futures, or other bitcoin-linked instruments. https://t.co/iufVXwRA90 @FTDA_US @FranklnTempletn bitcoin:native #BitcoinETF
— Rednirav (@CryptoRednirav) October 23, 2026
The 5% test is quarterly, the 20% ceiling is not
Each quarterly rebalance evaluates the bitcoin allocation in the Underlying Index, and the 5% line decides what happens next. If the allocation exceeds 5%, the exposure is rebalanced down to 4.5%, and if it is 5% or below, the allocation remains unchanged.
If bitcoin exceeds 20% at any close, it is rebalanced back to 4.5% on the close of the 2nd business day after the breach. That ceiling applies between rebalances. The 4.5% reset point sits below the 5% trigger, so each trim leaves headroom before the next test.
Stock weights face separate limits. Constituents carry a single security weighting cap of 20%, and the sum of all constituents with weights exceeding 5% cannot exceed 40%.
Both indexes track equity price return, which excludes the associated dividend payments. In index terms, dividends never enter the stock sleeve’s return. They only move into bitcoin.
Two indexes, two fees, one shared waiver
FBEQ tracks the VettaFi US Large-Cap 500 Bitcoin DRIP Index, built on the 500 largest U.S. companies. FIBT tracks the VettaFi US Innovation 100 Bitcoin DRIP Index, built on the top 100 U.S. issuers listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC.
Both prospectuses add a fee waiver. FIBT’s section repeats the waiver after a fee line of 0.19%, matching FBEQ’s.
In each, Advisory Services has voluntarily agreed to waive a portion of the unified management fee. The waiver equals the sponsor fees that Advisory Services or its affiliates actually earned on fund assets in other exchange-traded products they sponsor. The prospectus gives an affiliated spot bitcoin ETP as an example.
The Bottom Line
The prospectus states that the waiver is voluntary and may be modified or terminated. The waiver limits double charging on the same bitcoin assets, but a voluntary waiver can be reversed.
The funds may also use options and futures contracts that reference bitcoin or bitcoin ETPs, or a wholly-owned subsidiary established in the Cayman Islands. The 8-A names no first trading day. Once trading starts, the quarterly test and the 20% ceiling, not the dividend flow alone, decide how much bitcoin each fund holds.
