Just In: Franklin Templeton Debuts First Tokenized Fund On Coinbase’s Base L2

Franklin Templeton, a major asset management firm, has launched its OnChain U.S. Government Money Market Fund on Coinbase’s layer-2 blockchain, Base.

This move marks the first instance of an established asset manager making a fund available on the Base network, a layer-2 solution built to enhance transaction efficiency and reduce costs on the Ethereum blockchain.

Franklin Templeton Debuts Tokenized Fund On Base

According to a press release, Franklin Templeton’s tokenized fund, known as FOBXX, is now accessible on Coinbase’s Base blockchain. This represents a milestone for Base, which launched in 2022 and has rapidly gained traction as a popular layer-2 blockchain solution.

By adding FOBXX to its platform, Base not only welcomes its first large asset manager but also reinforces its growing influence in the decentralized finance (DeFi) landscape.

Anthony Bassili, head of tokenization at Coinbase, commented on the development, describing Franklin Templeton’s launch as a “clear signal” to investors and issuers about the potential of Base. He emphasized that financial institutions are increasingly turning to blockchain for faster and more affordable transactions, allowing them to modernize traditional financial systems with blockchain technology.

Expansion Across Blockchains

Franklin Templeton’s move to Base adds to the fund’s existing presence on five other blockchains: Stellar, Arbitrum, Polygon, Avalanche, and Aptos. Stellar is still the key network for FOBXX but with the introduction of Base, Franklin Templeton extends the horizon of its blockchain product portfolio following AI agents reveal on the Coinbase’s Base

FOBXX currently has a market capitalization of $410 million which can be considered as the largest for a tokenized fund in the market. The launch of FOBXX on Base is seen as being part of a wider plan by Franklin Templeton to integrate blockchain technology into the more traditional financial sector. 

Launched in 2021, FOBXX is the first money-market fund to do the transactions and ownership data recording on the public blockchain. This fund enables investors to get exposure to a U.S. government-backed money market product via blockchain and with higher transparency.

Challenges and Financial Headwinds

Despite its blockchain advancements, Franklin Templeton has recently faced challenges within its fixed-income division, particularly with its subsidiary, Western Asset Management. The firm disclosed $23.6 billion of outflows from Western Asset in the last three months, after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) opened an investigation into trading improprieties. In response to the situation, the CEO of Western Asset, Jenny Johnson has said that it is an “isolated incident” that does not affect other investment strategies used by the company.

During the interview with CNBC, Johnson stated that Franklin Templeton is keen on meeting the needs of clients. She pointed out that even though Western Asset has really struggled, other areas of the company have seen steady inflows of funds. Moreover, the asset management firm filed with the US SEC for a Bitcoin & Ethereum index ETF with BNY Mellon and Coinbase as custodians.

Johnson also pointed out that the person implicated in the investigation is on leave and has not been involved in any portfolio management thus the rest of the team is able to concentrate on their daily work.