Franklin Templeton, a leading global asset management firm, has further advanced its digital asset initiatives by expanding its pioneering blockchain-integrated money market fund, Franklin OnChain US Government Money Fund, to the Avalanche network.
The expansion reflects Franklin Templeton’s commitment to integrating traditional finance with decentralized finance (DeFi), marking a significant step in the firm’s innovative approach to financial services.
It aims to enhance institutional investor access to digital finance by leveraging blockchain technology for record-keeping.
Why did Franklin Templeton choose Avalanche?
Originally launched in 2021, Franklin OnChain US Government Money Fund offers institutional investors access to Franklin Templeton’s Benji Investments blockchain-integrated record-keeping system.
The move to Avalanche is notable as it marks the fund’s presence on a new layer-1 blockchain, further diversifying the platforms available to its investors.
Avalanche, known for its high performance and scalability, provides a robust foundation for this expansion. By integrating with Avalanche, Franklin Templeton is not only broadening the scope of its fund but also providing investors with more flexibility.
The ability for investors to hold their wallets on the Avalanche network, subject to eligibility, reflects the firm’s commitment to offering diverse and secure options within the decentralized finance ecosystem.
John Wu, president of Ava Labs, expressed enthusiasm about this development, highlighting the mutual commitment between Franklin Templeton and Avalanche to create transformative digital financial products.
Wu described the expansion as a “foundational piece” in enabling traditional finance to reach new audiences and offer capabilities not possible through conventional financial systems.
Bridging traditional finance and decentralized finance
The expansion to the Avalanche network is part of a broader strategy by Franklin Templeton to bridge the gap between traditional finance and decentralized finance. This initiative is in line with the firm’s ongoing efforts in digital asset development, which have been a focus since 2018.
By integrating blockchain and tokenization, Franklin Templeton aims to make traditional financial services more accessible and efficient.
In addition to its Avalanche expansion, Franklin Templeton has been actively pursuing other digital asset initiatives.
Recently, the firm filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch the Franklin Crypto Index ETF.
This ETF is designed to provide investors with a comprehensive crypto portfolio, tracking the performance of the CF Institutional Digital Asset Index.
The filing represents the firm’s belief in the growing importance of digital assets in investment portfolios.
Moreover, earlier this month, Franklin Templeton launched the same blockchain-integrated fund on Arbitrum, another significant player in the decentralized finance space amid a concerted effort to offer tokenized shares across multiple blockchain platforms, including Avalanche, Arbitrum, Stellar, and Polygon.
These efforts collectively demonstrate Franklin Templeton’s forward-thinking approach, aiming to meet on-chain investor demand while bringing off-chain capital into the digital asset ecosystem.
Avalanche (AVAX) price reaction
The price of Avalanche (AVAX) has surged by 7.86% today to trade at $24.92 at press time mainly buoyed by the Franklin Templeton news and the news of Grayscale Investments launching a new investment trust focused on the AVAX token.
Also, earlier today, Canza Finance, a crypto startup that aims to provide a permissionless, on-chain suite of DeFi products using tokenized African fiat currencies, launched Baki, a stablecoin platform, on Avalanche.
The altcoin’s 24-hour trading volume has also seen a 9% increase to $335,081,634, indicating a surge in investor interest.
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