Franklin Templeton is now looking to Europe to launch a Bitcoin-based exchange-traded product (ETP).
The move comes amid growing investor interest in digital assets in the region. Europe, while not yet able to compete with the United States market in terms of volume, is starting to become a place for global financial institutions to experiment with more open crypto-based products.
The company doesn’t seem to want to just follow the trend. They see a real opportunity. Just like someone who starts to see the potential of the trendy coffee milk market in a small, uncrowded town, Franklin Templeton wants to be an early player in an ecosystem that is still developing.
The plan to launch a Bitcoin ETP is said to be able to bridge the interests of traditional investors with the dynamic world of crypto.
JUST IN: $1.5 TRILLION FRANKLIN TEMPLETON EXPLORING #BITCOINETP LAUNCH IN EUROPE
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Franklin Templeton’s Broader Crypto Ambitions
On the other hand, Franklin Templeton is not only focusing on Bitcoin. In February 2025, the company also applied to US authorities to launch an ETF that tracks the spot price of Solana. The ETF is planned to be traded on the Cboe BZX Exchange with Coinbase as the asset custodian.
Furthermore, they have also listed an XRP-based ETF. The filing was made on March 11, 2025, and is structured similarly to the Solana ETF—trading on Cboe BZX and Coinbase as the custodian. The two filings strongly signal that Franklin Templeton is preparing to become a major force in the spot-based crypto investment product space. Is this a sign that we’ll see more digital asset ETFs in the near future?
Backing Bitcoin for National Reserves
However, it’s not just the ETF or ETP plans that are interesting. CNF reports that Franklin Templeton has also expressed its support for the US government’s Bitcoin strategic reserve. According to the firm, holding BTC as part of the country’s reserves could be a smart strategy, especially amid concerns about the fiscal deficit. The logic is simple, just like holding gold reserves in the past, Bitcoin is now seen as a potential hedge asset.
This kind of support is not just symbolic. It reflects a shift in the way major institutions view the role of crypto in the macroeconomy. If Franklin Templeton already thinks that governments need to have Bitcoin reserves, then it is not impossible that in the next few years, other central banks will start doing the same.
Bringing Government Funds On-Chain
In addition to ETFs, in February, Franklin Templeton launched another fairly unique product: the OnChain US Government Money Fund (FOBXX) on the Solana blockchain.
This fund is mostly invested in US government securities, cash, and repurchase agreements with very low credit risk. If you imagine it, this is like putting government deposits directly into a Solana-based digital wallet.