Wall Street Titan Franklin Templeton Adds Aptos to Digital Fund Network
Wall Street heavyweight Franklin Templeton has announced on Wednesday that its Nasdaq-listed On-Chain U.S. Government Money Fund, FOBXX, is now live on the Aptos (APT) blockchain.
Roger Bayston, Franklin Templeton's head of digital assets, emphasized the deliberateness of choosing Aptos, noting that "its unique characteristics" reflect the firm's high suitability criteria on their Benji platform. Aptos is a blockchain project founded by former members of Meta's defunct Diem project.
FOBXX is a groundbreaking digitized fund that allows investors to acquire U.S. government securities, cash, and repurchase agreements through Franklin Templeton's Benji Investments mobile app. It is the first and only US-registered fund to use public blockchains as its primary platform for the processing and recording of its transactions and share ownership.
The asset management giant described the latest expansion as a "massive step in the right direction" in pursuit of a "truly decentralized and accessible financial future." With this, Aptos joins Avalanche, Arbitrum, Stellar, and Polygon as some of the leading blockchains that already support FOBXX, with Avalanche having been integrated at the end of August.
Franklin Templeton's journey on the blockchain started in 2019 when the firm first tokenized shares for a money market fund on the Stellar blockchain. The firm showed further commitment to the digital assets space two years ago with the announcement of a venture fund dedicated to the sector.
