Franklin Templeton applies for spot Bitcoin ETF, tapping Coinbase as custody institution

Franklin Templeton applied for a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Sept. 12.

In the filing, the global investment firm said the fund’s asset would be custodied at Coinbase-and it would trade on Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. The filing did not include the proposed ticker for the ETF.

Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart noted that Franklin’s application for an ETF aligns with the firm’s previous interests, considering the firm has “been dancing with crypto and Bitcoin for a long time now.”

Franklin Templeton is one of the largest investment firms in the world. According to its website, the total value of assets under its management is $1.4 trillion as of April 30.

The SEC has historically rejected spot Bitcoin ETF applications, often citing concerns about the potential for fraud and market manipulation in the largely unregulated crypto market. However, in June, it received an avalanche of applications from several traditional financial institutions, including BlackRock.

Industry experts believe there is a 75% chance the financial regulator would succumb to the mounting pressure from various quarters to grant approval for a Bitcoin spot ETF this year. According to them, Grayscale’s recent landmark victory against the SEC has made more denials politically untenable.

The SEC recently delayed decisions on several proposals for a spot BTC ETF before it.

Bitcoin’s price has been further buoyed by news of the application, rising by more than 4% in the last 24 hours to $26,153 as of press time, according to CryptoSlate’s data.

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