Franklin Templeton Increases the Scope of Its Tokenised Money Market Fund to its Foundation
**Franklin Templeton Leads the Way in Tokenized Money Market Fund Expansion**
Franklin Templeton, a global investment firm, has made a significant stride in the world of blockchain technology by expanding its tokenized money market fund, FOBXX, to six blockchain networks, including Avalanche, Arbitrum, Polygon, Aptos, Stellar, and Ethereum layer-2. The firm's decision to diversify FOBXX across multiple blockchain networks is a testament to its commitment to leveraging fast, low-cost on-chain technology to modernize the financial system.
FOBXX, which operates primarily on the Stellar blockchain, has now become available on the Ethereum layer-2 network to make transactions relatively cheaper and boost execution speeds. The expansion to Ethereum layer-2 is a strategic move, as these networks are particularly beneficial for massive projects due to their ability to make transactions cheaper and boost execution speeds.
Franklin Templeton is not alone in its blockchain endeavors. Coinbase, Kraken, and UniSwap are among the entities building their blockchains with the OP Stack, indicating a growing trend towards interoperable blockchain networks. This development may lead to increased competition among blockchain networks, as more institutions seek cost-effective and speedy transaction solutions, similar to layer-2 blockchains.
The Optimism-based Superchain, another platform where FOBXX may become available, could potentially provide additional benefits for the fund. This superchain, consisting of multiple interconnected blockchains built on Optimism's open-source standard codebase, the OP Stack, may contribute to the further modernization of the financial system.
While Franklin Templeton's multi-blockchain approach is notable, other financial institutions have also been actively expanding their tokenized asset offerings, particularly within real-world asset markets. However, specific mentions of multi-blockchain deployments like Franklin Templeton's are less detailed in available sources.
Ethereum remains the largest host of tokenized real-world assets, with approximately $7.5 billion in tokenized value across 335 products. Avalanche, favored by institutions like Franklin Templeton for tokenized money market fund deployment, continues to be a popular choice for institutional-grade deployments due to its EVM compatibility, sub-second transaction finality, low fees, and suitability for such applications.
Initiatives like Etherealize, launched in January 2025, aim to increase institutional participation on Ethereum. However, the use of layer-2 solutions by these institutions is not explicitly mentioned in the search results. It can be inferred that some institutions may be exploring layer-2 protocols on Ethereum or other chains, but the most notable institutional deployments remain on primary networks like Avalanche and Ethereum.
Anthony Bassili, head of tokenization at Coinbase, commented on the announcement, stating that this is the first large asset manager to directly launch on Coinbase's Base. This move is a clear signal to investors and issuers of what's to come, as more financial institutions explore the potential of blockchain technology to streamline transactions and modernize the financial system.
In conclusion, Franklin Templeton's expansion of FOBXX to multiple blockchain networks is a significant step forward in the tokenization of real-world assets. As more institutions follow suit, we can expect to see a continued shift towards interoperable blockchain networks and the adoption of fast, low-cost on-chain technology in the financial sector.
References: [1] Franklin Templeton Investments. (n.d.). Tokenized U.S. Government Money Market Funds. Retrieved from https://www.franklintempleton.com/us/en/products/tokenized-us-government-money-market-funds.html [2] Etherealize. (2025, January). About Etherealize. Retrieved from https://etherealize.org/about
- The expansion of Franklin Templeton's FOBXX fund to Ethereum layer-2 demonstrates the firm's strategic use of technology in finance, aiming to facilitate cheaper transactions and boost execution speeds for business operations.
- The growing trend in the finance sector involves institutions, such as Coinbase and UniSwap, building blockchains with the OP Stack, indicative of a drive towards interoperable blockchain networks for cost-effective and speedy transactions, akin to layer-2 blockchains.
