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Franklin Templeton Expands OnChain US Government Money Market Fund to Arbitrum
- Franklin Templeton has expanded its OnChain US Government Money Market Fund (FOBXX) to Ethereum’s Arbitrum, marking its third blockchain integration.
- The FOBXX fund, launched in 2021, is a pioneer in using public blockchains for transactions and fractional ownership, contributing nearly US$2 billion in traded value.
- Franklin Templeton ranks third in the tokenised government securities market, with over US$400 million in assets under management (AUM).
One of the largest asset managers in the United States, Franklin Templeton, has expanded its OnChain US Government Money Market Fund (FOBXX) to Ethereum through the network’s largest Layer-2 blockchain, Arbitrum.
Related: Franklin Templeton CEO Highlights Cost Benefits of Tokenisation, Says All ETFs Will Be on Blockchain
This marks the third blockchain for trading the fund’s shares, following its previous tokenisation on Stellar and Polygon. Roger Bayston, Head of Digital Assets at Franklin Templeton, emphasised the move as a way to empower the company’s asset management capabilities using blockchain.
Bayston explained in the press release.
Expanding into the Arbitrum ecosystem is an important step on our journey to empower our asset management capabilities with blockchain technology. We are enthusiastic about the opportunities this partnership will unlock for our firm and our clients.
Roger Bayston, Head of Digital Assets at Franklin Templeton The Tokenisation Wars
The FOBXX fund was launched in 2021. It’s the first of its kind to use a public blockchain for transactions and fractional ownership — a key benefit of tokenisation. So far, FOBXX is a prominent player in the tokenised treasury market, contributing nearly US$2 billion (AU$3 billion) in traded value.
The fund was once the largest in this niche until BlackRock’s BUIDL fund joined the game, which leads the market with over US$500 million (AU$758.31 million) in assets under management (AUM), or 28.4% market share. In the second and third spots are US Yield Coin (USYC) and US T-Bill (USTB), according to data from Dune.
Moreover, Franklin Templeton ranks third as the largest tokenised government securities protocol, with over US$400 million (AU$606.65 million) in AUM.
Franklin Templeton is a renowned firm in the crypto space. It launched a spot Bitcoin ETF (EZBC) in January and a spot Ethereum ETF (EZET) last month, accumulating US$380 million (AU$576.42 million) and US$22 million (AU$33.37 million) in AUM, respectively.
Related: Australian Bitcoin ETFs See Net In-Flows as Investors Ignore Market Crash and Panic
This highlights the demand for crypto assets on the institutional side of finance. This demand is not limited to the US; other countries have launched Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in an attempt to emulate their early success. In Australia, Bitcoin ETFs are seeing net inflows despite the uncertainty and chaos gripping the market today.
Author
José Oramas
José is a journalist and translator with a keen interest in blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
