Franklin Templeton
Global asset manager offering on-chain funds and crypto ETFs
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About Franklin Templeton
Franklin Templeton is a global investment manager offering diversified strategies across equities, fixed income, multi-asset, and alternatives, including private markets and digital assets. Its core competitiveness lies in the One Franklin integration model, combining global research with multi-specialist teams to deliver tailored solutions.
A key market pain point is the mismatch between traditional fund custody rules and blockchain-based records. In August 2026, the SEC issued a no-action letter allowing Franklin Templeton's registered funds to hold shares of its on-chain money market fund BENJI without complying with physical vault custody requirements under the 1940 Act. This resolves the regulatory ambiguity for tokenized funds, enabling faster transactions and more frequent pricing.
Over the past six months, Franklin Templeton has advanced its digital asset strategy, with BENJI managing approximately $726 million in assets across Stellar, Ethereum, and Solana. The firm also closed its first collateralized fund obligation, raising $1.5 billion for private market exposure, and facilitated Uzbekistan's first international public equity offering. These developments reinforce its position as a leader in bridging traditional finance with blockchain innovation.
Franklin Templeton, as a global asset management giant, has undergone a key evolution in its tokenization strategy from experimentation to mainstream adoption:
In 2021, it launched FOBXX (Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund), becoming the world's first U.S.-registered mutual fund to use blockchain technology, issuing BENJI tokens on the Stellar chain and pioneering full on-chain operation of traditional funds.
From 2023 to 2024, FOBXX expanded to Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Solana, and Base, forming a seven-chain parallel structure and validating the feasibility of cross-chain fund architecture.
In 2025, it connected to Canton Network, providing institutional clients with a privacy blockchain option, while partnering with Binance/Ceffu to enable tokenized fund shares as trading collateral, opening new application scenarios for on-chain funds.
In 2026, the SEC issued a no-action letter, first allowing registered funds to hold on-chain money market fund BENJI, providing a blockchain exemption for the 1940 Act custody rules—a milestone regulatory breakthrough. The same year, the company completed a $1.5 billion collateralized fund debt instrument issuance and acquired 250 Digital (spun off from CoinFund) to establish Franklin Crypto, incorporating active crypto asset management into its core business and further consolidating its leadership in the digital asset space.
Franklin Templeton has advanced its digital asset strategy over the past six months. In February 2026, it launched an institutional off-exchange collateral program with Binance, enabling eligible clients to use shares of its tokenized government money fund (Benji) as collateral for trading, with custody via Ceffu. On August 12, 2026, the SEC issued a no-action letter allowing Franklin's registered mutual funds and ETFs to hold shares of its blockchain-based money market fund, integrating tokenized assets into traditional fund operations. The firm also acquired 250 Digital, forming a new Franklin Crypto unit led by Christopher Perkins and Seth Ginns, with Tony Pecore, to strengthen active crypto management. Future priorities include expanding the use of tokenized funds as cash or collateral across its $1.7 trillion AUM, developing more digitally native products, and obtaining fund board approvals to deploy this model by Q4 2026. This marks a shift from investor-facing tokenization to internal fund infrastructure.
Core executives at Franklin Templeton (no co-founders; it's an established firm):
Jenny Johnson – CEO, leading overall strategy and digital asset initiatives.
Mike Reed – Senior Vice President, Head of Digital Asset Partnership Development, focused on strategic alliances and due diligence.
Cathy Wu – Director of Digital Assets, overseeing digital asset products and operations.
Seth Ginns – Chief Investment Officer of Franklin Crypto, leading crypto investment strategies.
Chetan Karkhanis – Senior Vice President, driving digital asset and fintech partnerships, particularly in APAC.
Mitsunori Yuasa – Director of Digital & Fintech in Japan, managing regional digital initiatives.
Asher Qureshi – COO of Crypto Business, handling operational execution for crypto ventures.
Franklin Templeton has recently expanded its crypto team with several senior hires in June 2026, following the acquisition of 250 Digital. Dmitry Lapidus joins as Senior Investor; Christopher Perkins becomes Head of Franklin Crypto; Seth Ginns takes the role of Chief Investment Officer; and Asher Qureshi serves as COO. These appointments establish the new Franklin Crypto division, integrating expertise from the acquired team.