Franklin Templeton, the world’s top asset management firm, is exploring a new fund focused on cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, The private fund will target institutional investors who seek exposure to the broader crypto market.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs have been trading for almost five months, and Franklin has already mulled on additional crypto funds.
As reported, the fund might offer staking rewards to investors. Staking is a way to earn passive income from holding certain cryptocurrencies.
With the offering, Franklin Templeton is diversifying its suite of crypto-based products beyond Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). However, it remains unknown which crypto Franklin plans for its coming fund.
More Money Blasting Into Cryptos
Franklin Templeton has recently shown support for the Solana blockchain and certain Bitcoin layer-2 solutions. The firm praised Anatoly Yakovenko’s vision of “a single atomic state machine as a powerful use case of decentralized blockchains.”
Franklin Templeton’s spot Bitcoin ETF (EZBC), launched in January, has around 6147 BTC under management, equivalent to $436,5 million, according to data from HODL15CAPITAL. This figure contributes to $61,9 billion in Bitcoin, which all US spot Bitcoin ETFs hold as of June 6.
The asset giant’s spot Ethereum fund recently gained listing approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), pending an S-1 greenlight from the agency. The anticipated fund has been listed on DTCC under the ticker EZET.
An Early Mover
Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson believes more traditional institutions will embrace Bitcoin as it matures. She told CNBC, “This is really the first wave of the early adopters, and I think the next wave is the much bigger institutions.”
Johnson expects increasing interest from institutional investors in crypto due to lower data processing costs and innovative use cases.
Last year, Johnson revealed to Fortune that she had invested in BTC and ETH. In addition to the two leading cryptocurrencies, the CEO has made a personal investment in UNI, Uniswap’s native token, and SUSHI, SushiSwap’s native token.
As one of the leaders in traditional finance entering the crypto space, Franklin Templeton has shown strong interest in tokenization. The firm believes tokenization can revolutionize asset management by unlocking value in various assets like collectibles and intellectual property.
Franklin Templeton views tokenization as “securitization on steroids,” a powerful tool for unlocking liquidity and value in various assets.
The firm previously launched a tokenized bond fund and conducted a successful blockchain data processing experiment.
Franklin Templeton disclosed on June 6 that its Benji Investments platform users can now utilize the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin to invest in the Franklin OnChain US Government Money Fund (FOBXX).
Managing $357 million in assets, this fund is pioneering as the first US-registered mutual fund to use a public blockchain for transaction processing and ownership recording, with each share denoted by the BENJI token. Zero Hash, a platform specializing in crypto and stablecoin infrastructure, will support the transition to blockchain.
In addition to Bitcoin and tokenization, Franklin’s CEO shared her thoughts about other use cases of crypto assets like NFTs. She mentioned Rihanna’s innovative approach to tokenizing royalty rights for her song “B-tch Better Have My Money.”
Johnson previously expressed her opinion of “not being a fan of NFTs.” She said “not all NFTs are meaningful” and that she would prioritize established projects with clear financial returns and sustainable practices.
Franklin Templeton is also bullish on Runes protocol for Bitcoin’s growth. The investment giant sees potential in Runes Protocol to help the Bitcoin ecosystem close the gap with Ethereum and Solana.
Runes Protocol, invented by Casey Rodarmor, is designed to facilitate the issuance of fungible tokens directly on the Bitcoin network.
(founder of the Ordinals protocol), is designed to facilitate the issuance of fungible tokens directly on the Bitcoin network.
