Franklin Templeton has launched two exchange-traded funds on Nasdaq that combine portfolios of U.S. stocks with a bitcoin allocation funded by company dividends. The Franklin U.S. Equity Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF, ticker FBEQ, and the Franklin U.S. Innovation Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF, ticker FIBT, began trading on October 29.
The products are designed to give investors exposure to equities while directing the dividends generated by those holdings toward bitcoin. The launch follows registration filings submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on October 22. The initial filings for both funds were made in June, but did not include tickers or expense information, according to Bitcoin Magazine.
How the Bitcoin dividend strategy works
FBEQ tracks the VettaFi U.S. Large-Cap 500 Bitcoin DRIP Index. The index is built around the 500 largest U.S. companies by market capitalization, with each company weighted according to its float-adjusted market value. As of September 30, the index held 499 stocks. The companies ranged in market value from $10.2 billion to $5.5 trillion, and information technology represented its largest sector concentration.
At the fund’s launch, 95% of the index was allocated to those equities and 5% to bitcoin exposure. When a company in the portfolio pays a dividend, whether a regular distribution or a special dividend, the cash is used to acquire bitcoin exposure at the market open on the business day after the dividend’s ex-date.
That mechanism gives the funds a different structure from a conventional dividend reinvestment plan, commonly known as a DRIP. In a traditional DRIP, a dividend is used to purchase additional shares of the company that paid it. Franklin Templeton’s approach instead sends the dividend stream into bitcoin. Investors therefore do not need to open a separate crypto exchange account, manage a wallet or make their own custody arrangements to obtain that exposure through the fund.
The bitcoin allocation is subject to limits. During each quarterly rebalance, any allocation above 5% is reduced to 4.5%. If bitcoin rises above 20% of the index between scheduled rebalances, the index is required to reduce the position to 4.5% within two business days. The resulting proceeds are returned to stocks.
Exposure comes through investment products, not on-chain holdings
Although the funds are designed to gain exposure to bitcoin, they do not hold bitcoin directly on-chain. Instead, the exposure may come through bitcoin exchange-traded products, including Franklin Templeton’s own spot bitcoin fund, as well as bitcoin futures and options. Depositary receipts may also be used, in some cases through a Cayman Islands subsidiary.
This structure makes FBEQ and FIBT stock-oriented funds with a bitcoin component rather than dedicated bitcoin funds. Their performance can therefore reflect both the movement of the underlying U.S. equities and changes in bitcoin exposure accumulated through dividend payments.
FBEQ has an expense ratio of 0.09% and does not charge a 12b-1 fee. Franklin Advisory Services manages the fund, while Franklin Templeton Institutional serves as sub-advisor. The source material identifies both funds as Nasdaq-listed, but provides detailed index information and fee data specifically for FBEQ.
Franklin Templeton described the launch as part of the broader development of bitcoin as an investable asset. Dina Ting, the firm’s senior vice president and head of index investments, said bitcoin had benefited from deeper market infrastructure, wider adoption and greater understanding of its potential role in portfolios. She said a systematic approach was one way to address the next stage of adoption.
Jeff Masom, head of U.S. distribution and global wealth management private markets, characterized the funds as a way to combine U.S. equities and bitcoin through a differentiated index methodology.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar data recorded at 22:39 on October 25, 2026, showed bitcoin trading at $80,430.506808014. Bitcoin was down 0.08% over 24 hours and 1.32% over seven days.
The other assets in the supplied Moneyiar data showed mixed performance. RedStone was priced at $0.1452603192, down 2.72% over 24 hours but up 6.36% over seven days. Starpower stood at $0.1691322256, with gains of 26.33% over 24 hours and 55.76% over seven days; that reading was timestamped August 26, 2026, at 02:23. ADI was priced at $8.0409971161, down 0.27% over 24 hours and 2.6% over seven days.
The market data provides a snapshot of bitcoin’s price and recent performance before the ETFs began trading. It does not indicate how FBEQ or FIBT will perform, and the funds’ results will depend on their equity holdings, their bitcoin exposure and the rules governing the dividend-funded allocation.
