Franklin Templeton Harnesses Blockchain for Massive $380M US Government Money Fund

By: Eliza Bennet

Franklin Templeton's latest move in the crypto world involves tokenizing a US Government Money Fund worth $380 million on the Polygon and Stellar blockchains. This transition aims to enable P2P (peer-to-peer) transactions without the use of intermediaries. Named the Franklin OnChain United States Government Money Fund (FOBXX), the investment firm offers its shares as BENJI tokens which can be traded via public blockchains.

This approach is designed to allow investors greater control and flexibility over their assets by conducting direct exchanges. The firm's adoption of blockchain technology aims to enhance the liquidity and efficiency of asset management, signaling a significant step in digital asset management with increased transparency, security, and effectiveness.

The tokenization of government securities and other assets is rapidly becoming a preferred choice, proving the growing demand among financial institutions to integrate traditional structures with modern technology solutions. This comes as a direct competition to other investment giants such as BlackRock's tokenization efforts, who recently introduced the BUIDL fund on Ethereum in collaboration with Securitize to tokenize US Treasuries. Despite increased attention, Franklin Templeton maintains a leading position with 32% market share in the tokenized US Treasuries sector.