Franklin Templeton’s Crypto Expansion & Bakkt’s Funding Pursuit

Trillion-dollar asset management firm Franklin Templeton has joined the race to launch a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF). In its filing on February 12, the company expressed its intention to incorporate staking into the ETF to generate additional income. It will compete for regulatory approval with other major players such as BlackRock, VanEck, Fidelity, Invesco Galaxy, Grayscale, and Hashdex. Final decisions on these applications are expected between May and August. This week also saw Bakkt receive approval to raise capital, Ripple acquire Standard Custody & Trust, and CoinShares report a profitable fourth quarter.

Franklin Templeton has submitted its S-1 filing with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission, aiming to launch a spot Ether ETF in the United States. If approved, the ETF will be listed as “Franklin Ethereum ETF” on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. In a similar move to ARK 21Shares, Franklin intends to stake a portion of the ETF’s Ether to generate additional income. The firm has recently shown an interest in the network fundamentals of Ethereum and other blockchains, leading to speculation about potential expansion of its crypto services.

Ripple has acquired Standard Custody & Trust Company, a digital asset custody provider based in the United States. Standard offers custody and escrow services and operates under a charter granted by the New York State Department of Financial Services. The company is also a qualified custodian in accordance with federal legislation. Ripple already held a New York BitLicense and nearly 40 money transmitter licenses in the U.S., and the acquisition of Standard further strengthens its position in the custody market. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Bakkt, a cryptocurrency firm that offers custody and trading services, has received regulatory approval to raise up to $150 million through the sale of its securities. This approval comes shortly after the company expressed concerns about its balance sheet and sought permission to raise additional capital. The approval allows Bakkt to gradually sell the new securities over time without requiring separate approvals. The funds raised will help address the company’s cash flow issues. Bakkt has reported eight consecutive quarters of net losses since its public listing in 2021.

In its fourth-quarter report for 2023, investment platform CoinShares announced an annual revenue of $108.5 million. The company’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) were approximately $32.51 million. This marks a significant recovery compared to its earnings in 2022, when it recorded negative EBITDA of $30.11 million and a total income of negative $46.94 million in the fourth quarter. CoinShares’ assets under management also saw a 109% increase year-over-year, reaching $3.8 billion, driven by the recovery of digital asset prices and net inflows into its products.

Ryan Berckmans, an Ethereum community member and investor, predicts that Ether could reach $27,000 at the peak of the current bull cycle. Berckmans identifies the lack of selling pressure from miners as one of the main catalysts for this potential appreciation. His prediction aligns with the positive sentiment surrounding Ethereum and its potential for future growth.