Franklin Templeton, a leading investment manager with over $1.4 trillion in assets, has expanded its tokenized US treasuries fund—Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX)—to Aptos, a Layer-1 blockchain powered by the Move programming language.
FOBXX is a regulated 1940 act fund that invests at least 99.5% of its total assets in government securities and other financial instruments collateralized by government securities. Aptos is now the fifth blockchain to join the FOBXX fund, joining Avalanche, Arbitrum, Stellar, and Polygon.
Market observers stated that the move marks a significant development in integrating traditional finance with decentralized networks. Franklin Templeton was one of the several Wall Street giants that launched successful spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs this year.
Meanwhile, despite news of the Franklin Templeton expansion, the Aptos APT token is down by around 1% in the last 24 hours, trading at $7.76 as of press time.
Why Aptos?
Roger Bayston, Head of Digital Assets at Franklin Templeton, explained that the firm’s decision to expand to Aptos was based on its compatibility with its Benji blockchain-integrated system.
He reportedly said:
“We chose the Aptos Network given its unique characteristics, which meet our rigorous suitability standards for the Benji platform.”
Aptos has gained considerable traction since its launch in October 2022, growing to be among the top 25 digital assets by market capitalization, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Notably, the blockchain network also sees significant usage, with its users’ daily transaction volume recently hitting a peak of more than 3 million. In addition, the platform also boasts over $545 million in total value locked across DeFi activities, according to DeFillama data.
About FOBXX
FOBXX is a digitized fund that allows investors to allocate funds into U.S. government securities, cash, and repurchase agreements.
Launched in 2021, FOBXX became the first U.S.-registered mutual fund to adopt blockchain, initially utilizing Stellar. Its shares are tokenized and represented by the BENJI token, maintaining equal value.
Investors can purchase FOBXX shares and store them in digital wallets using Franklin Templeton’s Benji Investments mobile app.
Currently, the fund manages over $435 million in assets, making it the second-largest tokenized fund globally, according to rwa.xyz.
Notably, the firm has hinted at further launching its mutual fund to the Solana blockchain.