Franklin Templeton Closes 250 Digital Deal, Spawns Franklin Crypto Division 🏦

Franklin Templeton has completed its acquisition of crypto asset manager 250 Digital and established a new division, Franklin Crypto, dedicated to actively managed cryptocurrency strategies for institutional investors. The transaction, first announced in April, absorbed 250 Digital's investment team and liquid cryptocurrency strategies into the new unit. Franklin Crypto will be led by Christopher Perkins and Seth Ginns, formerly of 250 Digital, alongside Tony Pecore, Franklin Templeton's digital assets executive. The acquisition follows CoinFund's earlier decision to spin out its liquid strategies business into 250 Digital as CoinFund sharpened its focus on venture investing. Franklin Templeton did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

Franklin Templeton, which manages approximately $1.78 trillion in assets and operates in more than 35 countries, said Franklin Crypto will combine the investment capabilities of the former 250 Digital team with the asset manager's global distribution network. The new division builds on the firm's existing digital asset unit, which focuses on digital asset research, portfolio construction and institutional risk management.

The acquisition is part of a broader expansion by Franklin Templeton across cryptocurrency investing and tokenized financial products. In February, the company announced a partnership with Binance that lets institutional investors use tokenized money market fund shares as collateral for cryptocurrency trading, with the tokenized fund shares remaining in regulated custody while their collateral value is reflected within Binance's trading system. In March, Franklin Templeton partnered with Ondo Finance to offer tokenized exchange-traded funds on blockchain networks, and last week the firm proposed two ETFs that would reinvest stock dividends into Bitcoin-linked investments.

According to RWA.xyz, Franklin Templeton's tokenized assets have more than tripled over the past year, rising from about $768 million in June 2025 to more than $2.5 billion today. The on-chain value of its Benji tokenized asset platform currently stands at $2.51 billion, with approximately 61% or $1.5 billion residing on Ethereum ($ETH) and an additional $670.7 million on Stellar ($XLM). The broader tokenized asset market has also expanded, with onchain real-world asset value rising from about $11.8 billion to $32.2 billion over the past year.

Monthly transfer volumes on Franklin Templeton's tokenized product have declined 81.6% over the same period, falling from $900.8 million to $176.5 million, while asset values reached record highs. The figures indicate investors are accumulating tokenized products at a faster pace than they are moving capital in and out of them.