Franklin Templeton, a prominent asset manager, has applied for a spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF), according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This move comes as several other major players in the financial industry, including BlackRock, Fidelity, Ark and 21Shares, Grayscale, VanEck, Invesco and Galaxy, and Hashdex, have also submitted applications for Ethereum ETFs in recent months.
The filing by Franklin Templeton comes just four weeks after the company, along with nine other issuers, launched a spot bitcoin ETF. While asset management giants BlackRock and Fidelity have seen significant demand for their bitcoin funds, Franklin Templeton has had a less successful start, with only around $70 million in inflows since its launch. In contrast, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has attracted over $3.5 billion worth of bitcoin in the past month, and Fidelity has seen roughly $3 billion in inflows.
The SEC has been delaying decisions on approving Ethereum ETFs, as anticipated by industry experts. JP Morgan, a leading financial institution, currently estimates that there is less than a 50% chance of an Ethereum ETF being approved before May. However, traders on Polymarket, a decentralized prediction platform, appear to be more optimistic, with a 50% chance that the ETFs will be approved by May 31.
Franklin Templeton, often considered “old-fashioned,” has been making several forays into the cryptocurrency space in recent years since CEO Jenny Johnson took over the company in 2020. The asset manager has embraced the crypto culture by adding laser eyes to its logo, which features Ben Franklin, on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
In the broader cryptocurrency market, the price of ether (ETH) has experienced a 5.5% increase in the last 24 hours, trading near $2,647. Additionally, bitcoin (BTC) reached $50,000 on Monday for the first time since late 2021.
Overall, Franklin Templeton’s application for an Ethereum ETF demonstrates the growing interest and competition in the cryptocurrency market among major financial institutions. While the approval of an Ethereum ETF remains uncertain, the industry continues to evolve, attracting significant investments and attention from both traditional asset managers and crypto enthusiasts alike.
Source: [Coindesk](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/02/12/franklin-templeton-joins-ethereum-etf-race/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=rss&utm_campaign=headlines)