Franklin Templeton Tokenizes US Gov Funds On Polygon And Stellar

Top investment management firm Franklin Templeton has announced the availability of shares of the Franklin OnChain United States Government Money Fund (FOBXX) on the blockchain.

Franklin Templeton Ties Shares To BENJI Token

As it announced, peer-to-peer transfers for tokenized shares in the FOBXX fund on the public blockchain have been enabled. Notably, one share of the Fund is equivalent to one BENJI token, an asset registered on both the Polygon and Stellar blockchains. As such, investors can gain access to the Fund via the Benji Investments app on both Google and Apple stores. 

The official record of share ownership through a proprietary integrated system that uses blockchain technology for transaction activity will remain under the purview of the Fund’s transfer agent.

Franklin Templeton has a market share of 32%, per the data compiled by asset management firm 21.co. This places the investment management firm way ahead of the other organizations in the tokenized U.S. Treasuries niche. Furthermore, this outlook is underscored by more than $360 million in Assets Under Management (AUM). 

In the long run, Franklin Templeton is looking to operate the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund, in tandem with the rest of the digital asset ecosystem. The firm wants to push its primary investments into government securities and related instruments. Ultimately, the goal is to maintain a stable $1 share price. 

Franklin Templeton To Compete With BlackRock

It is noteworthy that this Franklin Templeton’s Fund is in close competition with BlackRock’s new BUIDL fund that was tokenized in partnership with Securitize on Ethereum. BlackRock’s BUIDL Fund was the investment giant’s first foray into the tokenization niche. External investors are required to invest a minimum of $100,000 to take part in the Fund. 

Within one month of its launch, BUIDL has gained about 25% of the market although its AUM is $304 million, a little below Franklin Templeton’s. Depending on how much of the market share each of these investment firms are able to capture, the competition between BlackRock and Franklin Templeton may get steeper.

Both investment management firms recently became spot Bitcoin ETF issuers after the U.S. SEC greenlighted the offering. They are also seeking the Commission’s approval for a potential spot Ethereum ETF.