Financial innovators are playing a long-term game with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and that's only fair, says Roger Bayston, head of digital assets at Franklin Templeton.

"The SEC, like many regulatory bodies, likes to rely on legal premises. Those premises are often established in civil courts, so that's our process," Bayston said.

Franklin Templeton launched the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Monetary Fund (“Benji”) in 2023, but getting there “was almost a five-year journey with the SEC to enlighten them, to educate them about the use of blockchain technology in investment funds.”

Bayston likens tokenized money funds to stablecoins. The saver gives money to the operator, the operator invests, returns the money, and the profit from the investment belongs to the operator.

Franklin Templeton is bullish on cryptocurrencies, says Bayston: “We believe in technologies, and so we believe properly structured [crypto] tokens represent value for those technologies.”

Franklin Templeton filed a spot Ether exchange-traded fund application with the SEC at a later date than other applicants. The agency initially delayed deciding on his application until June 11, but approved it along with others on May 23.

Bayston wasn't surprised by this. “They weren't trying to give anyone an advantage in this new market,” he said.

We welcome your comments: What do you think of the SEC's stance? Do you share Franklin Templeton's optimistic view on cryptocurrencies?