Franklin Templeton Receives First SEC Approval to Integrate Tokenized Assets into Traditional Funds
Nashnova编辑部
Franklin Templeton has secured what it calls the SEC's first approval to use a tokenized money-market fund — its $2.6 billion BENJI — as cash or collateral inside traditional ETFs and mutual funds, marking the moment tokenization moves from standalone product to embedded fund infrastructure.
What exactly did the SEC approve?
The SEC has allowed a "digital-native product" to be used inside traditional funds for the first time. Franklin Templeton can now treat its tokenized money-market fund BENJI as a cash holding or collateral inside its own ETFs and mutual funds.
This means → an ordinary investor holding a traditional fund could end up indirectly owning tokenized assets without actively choosing to.
In plain terms = tokenized assets used to be a separate product you had to seek out. Now they can be fitted inside a fund you already own — like a component inside a machine.
How large is Franklin Templeton's fund footprint?
The firm manages over 130 ETFs globally, totaling roughly $82 billion. Its mutual-fund assets stand at about $790 billion.
The tokenized money-market fund approved for embedding, BENJI, currently manages $2.6 billion.
This means → $2.6 billion is a tiny fraction of the $870-billion-plus total, but it opens a channel — more tokenized products can follow the same path into traditional funds.
When does this actually take effect?
Each fund can hold tokens once it completes an "on-chain" process — connecting the fund's systems to a blockchain network — but every individual fund still needs its own board's approval.
The company expects the earliest go-live in Q4 this year, possibly sooner.
This reflects a pattern: regulatory clearance is step one, but internal governance is the variable that sets the actual pace.
What does this mean for the broader industry?
According to data provider rwa.xyz, the total market value of tokenized assets — traditional financial assets issued and traded on blockchains — has risen to roughly $38 billion over the past year. BlackRock and BNY Mellon are among the institutions expanding their presence.
Previously, Franklin Templeton's push ran one way: moving traditional ETFs *onto* the blockchain for distribution through crypto wallets. This time the direction is reversed — pulling on-chain assets *into* traditional funds.
In plain terms = what was a one-way street — traditional product → blockchain — is now a two-way channel. This means → tokenization is no longer confined to the crypto world; it is starting to seep into the fund products ordinary investors hold every day.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.