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Institutions Flocking to Meme Coins? Franklin Templeton Hints at Trend
- Franklin Templeton posted a short research note about meme coins to X yesterday, highlighting the relationship between meme coins and increased activity on their native networks.
- The firm’s efforts to educate their clients about meme coins may suggest an increased interest in crypto among more traditional investors.
Global asset management firm, Franklin Templeton, posted a short research note on social media platform X yesterday—expounding the virtues of meme coins, of all things—and drawing particular attention to BONK.
Related: ETH Struggles to Hold $4K as Dencun Upgrade Rolls Out
Beyond simply outlining what memecoins are and how they work, the note highlighted the relationship between successful meme coins and increased activity on their native networks.
While quite basic, the note does suggest growing interest in crypto from clients of traditional asset managers, beyond the ‘absurdly’ successful Bitcoin ETFs.
Franklin Templeton: It’s Important You Understand Bonk
In the research note, Franklin Templeton outlined the essentials of meme coins for their clients, starting with the basics: meme coins are based on internet memes and have no inherent value or utility.
The note also said meme coins generally have low barriers to entry, low fees and the potential for huge profits (and losses) over short periods of time—all basic stuff for the experienced inveterate gamblers out there.
A more interesting observation made in the note was the relationship between network activity and meme coins:
We believe memecoins have a strong relationship with their native networks.
Franklin Templeton Meme Coin Research Note The note highlighted the example of BONK, which skyrocketed in value late last year, and the number of daily active users on its native network, Solana:
In the last year, crypto markets have seen multiple meme coins parabolically surge, most notably Solana-based BONK during Q4 2023. Solana daily active user addresses were up 75% quarter over quarter from Q3 to Q4 2023.
Franklin Templeton Meme Coin Research Note 
It’s also noteworthy that a large asset manager like Franklin Templeton considers it worthwhile to educate its customers on memecoins. Could this signal a serious interest in crypto—beyond Bitcoin ETFs—among the firm’s clientele?
Related: Bitcoin ETFs Hit Record $1bn Daily Inflows
All we need to do now is conscript Gary Gensler into the Doge Army and a meme coin spot ETF should be just around the corner, right?
Author
Jody McDonald
Jody is a Brisbane-based freelance writer who specialises in writing about business, technology, and the future of work.
