Franklin Templeton crypto index ETF delayed by SEC

Franklin Templeton, one of the crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuers, has expressed interest in releasing the crypto index ETF, but the authorities are now delaying it.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) detained the deadline for approving the crypto index ETF by Franklin Templeton. According to the filing on Nov. 20, the authorities raised their concern about the sufficient time they needed to decide whether it would be accepted or declined.

“The Commission may designate if it finds such longer period to be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding or as to which the self-regulatory organization consents, the Commission shall either approve the proposed rule change, disapprove the proposed rule change, or institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule change should be disapproved,” SEC fillings.

On August. 17, based on their filing, Franklin proposed the crypto index ETF by holding Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) with the ticker EZPZ. The proposed fund would allow the two most prominent crypto in the world under the same index with an unspecified ratio weighted by market capitalization.

If approved by the authorities, EZPZ would use the Coinbase custody and be listed on the Cboe BZX exchange. Franklin may add another crypto into the index but should gain approval from the SEC.

Franklin Templeton moves on crypto

Franklin Templeton, which is based in New York, is one of the most adaptable asset managers that allows investors to gain more exposure from the crypto price movement. Franklin created another crypto-related product after receiving the authority approval in January for Bitcoin spot ETF.

On October. 31, they tokenized money market funds into several blockchains, including Base, Arbitrum, Polygon, Avalanche, Aptos, and Stellar. The U.S. government money market fund (FOBXX) has $410 million in assets being tokenized into that blockchain.

Franklin also works with SBI Group in Japan to prepare for the possibility of accepting the crypto fund in the country, but this work’s development has not been published yet.