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Asset manager Franklin Templeton announced it is enabling peer-to-peer token transfers for its $380 million tokenized money market fund. This new feature helps expand the functionality of the Franklin OnChain US Government Monetary Fund’s BENJI token and make it more connected to the digital asset ecosystem.
The move allows Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Monetary Fund (FOBXX) investors to transfer the fund’s BENJI token to each other without intermediaries, Franklin Templeton announced Thursday. Available on the Stellar (XLM) and Polygon (MATIC) blockchains, the BENJI token represents shares of a fund that holds government bonds, cash and repurchase agreements, and pays a regular return to token holders.
“Allowing peer-to-peer transfers of fund shares puts Franklin Templeton at the sharp end of the financial industry, where tokenized real-world assets are an industry standard and are more open, transparent and accessible,” said Jason Chlipala, chief business development officer of the Stellar Development Foundation.
This development is important because transferability allows expanding the functionality of the token in the future, such as being traded on secondary markets or used as loan collateral on decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms.
“Eventually, we hope assets built on blockchain rails will work seamlessly with the digital asset ecosystem,” said Roger Bayston, head of digital assets at Franklin Templeton.
Tokenized U.S. Treasury bonds are leading the race to bring traditional financial assets, like bonds, onto the blockchain tracks. The market for tokenized Treasuries has surged tenfold since the beginning of 2023, topping $1.2 billion, as digital asset investors seek safe returns for their blockchain-based cash holdings.
BENJI is the largest and oldest, launched in 2021 and has a market cap of $380 million, according to rwa.xyz data. Ondo Finance’s tokens and startups like Securitize and BlackRock’s new BUIDL fund have already allowed peer-to-peer token transfers and gained significant market share, and Franklin Templeton’s rollout is nearing.
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