Franklin Templeton Brings Its OnChain Money Market Fund to Polygon

Franklin Templeton, one of the world’s largest asset managers that is overseeing approximately $1.5 trillion, announced on Wednesday, April 26th, that it has brought its OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund onto the Polygon blockchain. The fund, which invests almost entirely in government securities, cash, and repurchase agreements, is the first ever to utilize blockchain technology to record share ownership and transactions.

OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund Comes to Polygon

In a Wednesday press release, Franklin Templeton announced that its OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund is now supported on the Polygon blockchain. The news comes just days after Stellar—a long-standing partner of the asset management firm—announced that the fund is available on its network through the Benji Investments app.

Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund is the first of its kind to use blockchain technology to record share ownership and transaction and, due to the nature of blockchain, it can be traded at all times. The fund itself invests a vast majority of its $272 million worth of assets in government securities, cash, and repurchase agreements.

Global Head of Institutional Capital at Polygon Labs, Colin Butler, expressed his excitement about the partnership and stated that it will help showcase tokenized assets’ ability to “positively rewire the global financial system”. The partnership itself represents a major milestone as Franklin Templeton is one of the world’s largest asset managers and is overseeing around $1.5 trillion. 

The asset manager similarly assessed the partnership very positively and expressed optimism about the possibilities opened by “the scope and breadth of the Ethereum ecosystem”. Franklin Templeton has a long history with digital assets and blockchain technology as it was seeking to tap into the Stellar blockchain already in 2019.

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Traditional Companies Increasingly Embracing Blockchain Technology

Franklin Templeton is far from the only traditional company to have embraced blockchain technology in one way or another. This year alone has already brought multiple interesting developments from firms across numerous industries. Still, perhaps the most adamant supporters of digital assets from without the sector have proven to be the payment giants Visa and Mastercard—both of which proved enthusiastic about it despite the regulatory crackdown and rumors to the contrary.

While various web3 video games have been developed and released over the years, 2023 is set to finally fulfill the promise of delivering a AAA experience centered on digital assets through multiple partnerships between well-known names from the gaming industry and major digital assets companies. Earlier this month, the legendary Japanese developer Square Enix once again strengthened its commitment to web3 with a collaboration with Elixir Games. 

The year also brought news from more unexpected industries. In late January Walmart filed for a series of blockchain-related trademarks for its Sam’s Club. Additionally, this year saw the pet food maker Pedigree enter Decentraland with its Fosterverse initiative aimed at boosting real-world adoption.

Do you think more mutual funds would benefit from tracking shareholders and transactions using blockchain? Let us know in the comments below.