According to TechFlow, on August 8, The Block reported that global asset management giant Franklin Templeton has partnered with the Arbitrum Foundation to launch its OnChain U.S. Government Currency Fund (FOBXX) on the Ethereum Layer 2 network Arbitrum. The fund is represented by the BENJI token and has previously been launched on Stellar and Polygon.
Investors can access FOBXX assets in digital wallets through Franklin Templeton's blockchain integration platform Benji Investments and BENJI tokens. The company said investors can use the Arbitrum network based on demand and qualifications. The partnership aims to accelerate the integration of traditional finance with the DeFi world. The fund was initially launched on the Stellar blockchain and expanded to Polygon in April. It mainly invests in government securities and related instruments, strives to maintain a stable $1 stock price, and may support more networks.
Roger Bayston, head of digital assets at Franklin Templeton, said that the expansion into the Arbitrum ecosystem is an important step in leveraging blockchain technology to enhance asset management capabilities. Arbitrum is the largest Layer 2 network on Ethereum, with a total locked value of $2.6 billion and a 34% market share. Although Arbitrum was surpassed by the Base network incubated by Coinbase last month in terms of the seven-day moving average number of active addresses, it continues to lead other optimistic and zk rollup competitors in terms of active daily addresses.
Steven Goldfeder, CEO and co-founder of Offchain Labs, a core contributor to Arbitrum, said, "Franklin Templeton's commitment to innovation is consistent with our mission to provide scalable and efficient solutions to the financial sector. We look forward to Franklin Templeton joining the Arbitrum ecosystem and the transformative impact his participation will have on our community."
