Executives from Franklin Templeton and BNP Paribas say tokenized assets and stablecoins could improve capital efficiency across Europe as Wall Street expands tokenization efforts. Large financial institutions are turning to tokenization to improve capital efficiency and liquidity, according to representatives from Franklin Templeton and BNP Paribas. Speaking at a panel at the WAIB Summit 2026 in Monaco, industry executives discussed how tokenized assets and stablecoins could modernize Europe's capital markets by streamlining settlement, improving collateral mobility and creating new opportunities for cross-border financial activity. Tokenization offers institutions more “optionality and flexibility,” a development that is driving interest from banks and large corporations to launch their own offerings, said Rafael Mastroberardino, head of digital assets partnership development at investment manager Franklin Templeton. Read more
Franklin Templeton has agreed to acquire CoinFund spinoff 250 Digital to launch Franklin Crypto, a dedicated crypto arm targeting institutional crypto investment management. Global asset manager Franklin Templeton is set to expand its crypto footprint by acquiring a spinoff of the crypto-native investment firm CoinFund. Franklin Templeton said Wednesday it plans to acquire 250 Digital, a CoinFund spinoff that runs liquid crypto investment strategies, expanding the asset manager’s digital asset business. The deal will form part of a new unit called Franklin Crypto once it closes. The move follows CoinFund’s decision earlier this year to spin out its liquid strategies business into 250 Digital as the company sharpened its focus on venture investing. Read more
Available initially to non-US investors, the funds will offer onchain exposure to equities, bonds and gold through crypto wallets. Franklin Templeton is teaming with Ondo Finance to bring tokenized versions of its exchange-traded funds onchain, allowing investors to access them through crypto wallets. The partnership opens a new distribution channel beyond brokerage accounts as asset managers experiment with blockchain-based delivery and 24/7 market access. The tie-up was first reported by Bloomberg and later confirmed by Ondo on X. The products will initially be available across Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Latin America, with US access dependent on regulatory clarity. Read more
Sentient launched Arena, a production-style platform to test AI agents on enterprise tasks, with Pantera and Franklin Templeton joining the initial cohort. Pantera Capital and Franklin Templeton’s digital assets units have joined the first cohort of Arena, a new testing environment from open-source AI lab Sentient that is designed to evaluate how AI agents perform in enterprise-style workflows. In a Friday announcement shared with Cointelegraph, Sentient positioned Arena as a production-style benchmarking platform rather than a static model test. Instead of scoring agents on fixed datasets alone, it runs them through standardized tasks modeled on enterprise conditions, including long documents, incomplete information and conflicting sources. “In this initial phase, participation refers to supporting the Arena program and developer cohort,” Oleg Golev, product lead at Sentient Labs, told Cointelegraph. Read more
Franklin Templeton is letting institutions pledge tokenized money market fund shares as collateral for trading on Binance, while keeping the fund assets in off‑exchange custody. Global investment manager Franklin Templeton announced the launch of an institutional off‑exchange collateral program with Binance that lets clients use tokenized money market fund (MMF) shares to back trading activity while the underlying assets remain in regulated custody. According to a Wednesday news release shared with Cointelegraph, the framework is intended to reduce counterparty risk by reflecting collateral balances inside Binance’s trading environment, rather than moving client assets onto the exchange. Eligible institutions can pledge tokenized MMF shares issued via Franklin Templeton’s Benji Technology Platform as collateral for trading on Binance. Read more
Franklin Templeton is amending institutional money market funds to support stablecoin reserves and onchain cash use without launching new crypto-native products. Franklin Templeton has amended two Western Asset institutional money market funds (MMFs) to plug directly into the emerging US stablecoin regime and tokenized cash infrastructure rather than launching new crypto native products. According to a release shared with Cointelegraph, Franklin Templeton is adapting the two long‑running Western Asset institutional funds so they can be used more directly in US GENIUS‑aligned stablecoin reserve structures and blockchain‑enabled distribution channels, without changing their status as Securities and Exchange Commission‑registered 2a‑7 MMFs. The changes are designed to allow the funds to serve as regulated, government-backed collateral for payment stablecoins and other tokenized cash uses without altering their core regulatory status. Read more
The investment vehicle tied to XRP launched amid other offerings from Grayscale, Bitwise Asset Management and Canary Capital. Asset management company Franklin Templeton launched an exchange-traded fund tracking the XRP token on the NYSE Arca amid regulatory approvals clearing the way for other crypto investment vehicles. On Monday, the Franklin XRP ETF launched on the NYSE Arca under the ticker XRPZ, providing investors with access to the cryptocurrency. Its trading debut coincides with the launch of the Grayscale XRP Trust ETF (GXRP) and follows other similar launches from Bitwise Asset Management and Canary Capital. XRP (XRP) is the native asset of the XRP Ledger, an open-source blockchain developed by Ripple. The cryptocurrency has risen 8.25% over the past 24 hours, according to Cointelegraph Markets data. Read more
Franklin Templeton has linked its Benji tokenization platform to the Canton Network, expanding institutional access to regulated onchain assets. Franklin Templeton has expanded its tokenization and investor platform, Benji, to the Canton Network, marking another step in the growth of institutional blockchain infrastructure for tokenized investment products. The integration, announced Wednesday, connects Franklin Templeton’s proprietary Benji Technology Platform to Canton, a blockchain network designed for regulated financial institutions. The move enables Benji’s tokenized assets, including its onchain US government money market fund, to be used as collateral and liquidity within Canton’s Global Collateral Network. Each Benji token represents a share of Franklin Templeton’s tokenized money market fund, with yields calculated intraday and ownership recorded onchain. Read more
The launch marks Franklin Templeton’s latest step into digital assets, introducing a blockchain-based UCITS fund as Hong Kong accelerates its push toward real-world asset tokenization. Franklin Templeton has launched a tokenized US dollar money market fund for professional investors in Hong Kong, expanding its crypto offerings in Asia. According to a statement shared with Cointelegraph on Wednesday, the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund is the first end-to-end tokenized structure by an asset manager to integrate issuance, distribution and servicing directly onchain in Hong Kong. The tokenized fund will be initially available only to institutional and professional investors. It is registered in Luxembourg under a regulated framework that allows investment funds to be sold across the European Union. Read more
The SEC has extended deadlines for crypto funds tracking Solana and XRP, along with proposals targeting Ether staking. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed decisions on multiple crypto exchange traded funds (ETF) proposals Wednesday, pushing back deadlines for funds including BlackRock and Franklin Templeton. According to SEC filings, the agency has set a new deadline of Nov. 13 for Franklin’s Ethereum staking amendment, and Nov. 14 for its Solana and XRP ETFs. A proposal seeking to permit staking in BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust is now slated for Oct. 30. The filings do not indicate how the SEC is leaning on the applications; only that more time is needed to evaluate them. The commission is using the maximum extension available before issuing a final decision. Read more
Binance has partnered with the crypto ETF issuer Franklin Templeton to explore the tokenization of securities combined with a global trading infrastructure. Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has entered into a partnership with the US crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider, Franklin Templeton. Binance and Franklin Templeton are collaborating to explore tokenization of securities combined with a global trading infrastructure, the crypto exchange announced on Wednesday. “Our goal is to take tokenization from concept to practice for clients to achieve efficiencies in settlement, collateral management, and portfolio construction at scale,” said Roger Bayston, Franklin Templeton’s head of digital assets. Read more