Franklin Templeton is preparing to integrate tokenized assets into traditional investment funds, a step that brings blockchain technology deeper into mainstream asset management. According to reports, the firm intends to use its Franklin Onchain U.S. Government Money Fund, known as BENJI, as a holding or collateral inside exchange-traded funds and mutual funds.
The strategy could launch as early as the fourth quarter, pending approvals from individual fund boards across Franklin's lineup of more than 130 ETFs. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission cleared the structure through a no-action position, permitting Franklin funds to use the tokenized money-market product for cash management and collateral purposes.
Sandy Kaul, Franklin’s head of digital assets and innovation, noted that this marks the first time the SEC has indicated a digitally native product can be utilized within traditional financial products.
The integration aims to improve liquidity management and make idle cash more productive within conventional portfolios. Franklin oversees approximately $82 billion in assets across its global ETFs and roughly $790 billion in mutual funds, while its tokenized money-market funds manage about $2.6 billion.
This initiative aligns with a broader Wall Street push into tokenized real-world assets, where total market value has surpassed $38 billion according to Rwa.xyz data. Other major firms, including BlackRock and BNY, have also advanced blockchain-based fund and settlement projects. Franklin additionally plans to issue more tokenized products that could serve as cash or collateral across a larger portion of its fund offerings.
