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HashKey to Tokenize Franklin Templeton Fund in Hong Kong

The tokenized money market fund grBENJI will become available to professional investors in Asia through a licensed HashKey platform. The partnership fits into the rapid growth of RWA products and Hong Kong’s role as a test market.

By Zenz van der Wielen
• 2 min read
HashKey to Tokenize Franklin Templeton Fund in Hong Kong

Key Takeaways

  • HashKey will team up with Franklin Templeton to offer the tokenized money market fund grBENJI to digital investors in Asia.
  • The fund gives token-based exposure to U.S. government money market products and dollar cash positions.
  • According to rwa.xyz, tokenized U.S. Treasury and money market funds grew 1,500% in two years to $15 billion.

HashKey will team up with Franklin Templeton to offer its tokenized money market fund, Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Liquidity Fund (grBENJI), to digital investors in Asia. The move shows that regulated platforms in Hong Kong are being used more and more for yield products tied to real-world assets.

Tokenized Fund Grows Fast

According to data from rwa.xyz, tokenized U.S. Treasury and money market funds grew 1,500% over the past two years to $15 billion (€12.9 billion). That growth fits with broader interest from professional investors in products that combine yield with a blockchain structure.

GrBENJI is meant for professional investors and gives access to a tokenized fund that mainly invests in U.S. government money market products and U.S. dollar cash positions. In practice, that gives investors token-based exposure to traditional money market instruments without the underlying fund leaving its familiar financial framework.

HashKey Expands in Hong Kong

HashKey said in a statement that the fund will become available on its platform for digital asset investors in Asia. The crypto exchange has Type 1 and Type 7 licenses from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission, which lets it trade securities on behalf of clients and run an automated trading service.

That also makes the partnership relevant beyond Hong Kong. For European crypto readers, it shows how regulated exchanges and big asset managers are pushing tokenized investment products further into the market, while regulators try to keep a grip on the infrastructure around them. The growth of tokenized assets on major exchanges is moving in the same direction, with these kinds of products showing up more and more often.

More RWA Products on the Way

Franklin Templeton manages $1.8 trillion (€1.5 trillion) in assets across more than 35 countries. The fund uses blockchain infrastructure to give investors exposure to traditional money market instruments through a tokenized wrapper, a blockchain token that represents a claim on the underlying asset.

Both companies also said they want to expand beyond money market funds into other tokenized products over time. Franklin Templeton has been active with blockchain products for a while: BENJI launched in 2021 as the first U.S. registered money market fund to use a public blockchain for transaction processing and recording ownership.

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