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Franklin Templeton Considers New Crypto Funds After BTC ETF Launches
Franklin Templeton, the world’s leading asset management firm, is exploring a new fund Focused on cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, the private fund will target institutional investors seeking exposure to the broader cryptocurrency market.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs have been trading for nearly five months, and Franklin has already been mulling additional crypto funds.
As reported, the fund may offer staking rewards to investors. Staking is a way to earn passive income by holding certain cryptocurrencies.
With this offering, Franklin Templeton is diversifying its suite of cryptocurrency-based products beyond Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). However, it is unknown which cryptocurrency Franklin plans to include in his next fund.
More money invested in cryptocurrencies
Franklin Templeton recently showed support for the Solana blockchain and some layer-2 Bitcoin solutions. The company praised Anatoly Yakovenko’s vision of “a single atomic state machine as a powerful use case for decentralized blockchains.”
Franklin Templeton’s Bitcoin spot ETF (EZBC), launched in January, has about 6,147 BTC under management, equivalent to $436.5 million, according to data from HODL15CAPITAL. This figure contributes to $61.9 billion in Bitcoin, which all spot Bitcoin ETFs hold as of June 6.
The asset giant’s Ethereum spot fund recently gained listing approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), pending the agency’s S-1 greenlight. The planned fund was listed on DTCC under the ticker EZET.
A prime mover
Jenny Johnson, CEO of Franklin Templeton, believes more traditional institutions will embrace Bitcoin as it matures. She told CNBC: “This is really the first wave of early adopters, and I think the next wave is going to be much larger institutions.”
Johnson expects growing institutional investor interest in cryptocurrencies due to lower data processing costs and innovative use cases.
Last year, Johnson revealed to Fortune that he had invested in BTC and ETH. In addition to the two major 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 of traditional finance entering the cryptocurrency space, Franklin Templeton has shown strong interest in tokenization. The company believes that tokenization can revolutionize asset management by unlocking value in various assets such as collectibles and intellectual property.
Franklin Templeton views tokenization as “securitization on steroids,” a powerful tool for unlocking liquidity and value in various assets.
The company had previously launched a tokenized bond fund and successfully conducted a blockchain data processing experiment.
Franklin Templeton revealed on June 6 that users of its Benji Investments platform can now use the Stablecoin USD Coin (USDC). invest in the Franklin OnChain US Government Money Fund (FOBXX).
Managing $357 million in assets, this fund is pioneering as the first registered mutual fund in the United States 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 infrastructure and stablecoins, will support the transition to blockchain.
In addition to Bitcoin and tokenization, Franklin’s CEO shared his thoughts on other use cases for crypto assets such as NFTs. He mentioned Rihanna’s innovative approach to tokenizing royalties for her song “B-tch Better Have My Money.”
Johnson had previously expressed her opinion that she is “not a fan of NFTs.” You said that “not all NFTs are significant” and that you would prioritize established projects with clear financial returns and sustainable practices.
Franklin Templeton is also bullish on the Runes protocol for Bitcoin growth. The investment giant sees potential in the Runes protocol to help the Bitcoin ecosystem close the gap with Ethereum and Solana.
The 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.