This week, the Arbitrum Foundation and global asset manager Franklin Templeton announced the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX) is available on Arbitrum, an Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain. Investors can gain exposure to FOBXX in digital wallets through the Benji Investments platform, Franklin Templeton’s proprietary blockchain-integrated recordkeeping system, and may use the Arbitrum network upon request and subject to eligibility.
The companies believe this collaboration will accelerate the integration of decentralized finance within traditional financial services. By onboarding the Arbitrum network to the Benji Investments platform, Franklin Templeton will further extend the compatibility of FOBXX within the digital assets ecosystem and reach a previously untapped audience for the asset manager.
“Franklin Templeton’s commitment to innovation aligns with our mission to provide scalable and efficient solutions for the financial sector,” said Steven Goldfeder, co-founder and CEO of Offchain Labs, which are core contributors to Arbitrum. “We are excited to see Franklin Templeton join the Arbitrum ecosystem and look forward to the transformative impact their participation will bring to our community.”
Since 2018, Franklin Templeton Digital Assets has been building blockchain-based technology solutions, running node validators, and developing a wide range of investment strategies. The firm’s digital assets research team leverages fundamental “tokenomic” analysis, insights from an embedded data science team and industry connections to help inform product development and investment decisions.
“Expanding into the Arbitrum ecosystem is an important step on our journey to empower our asset management capabilities with blockchain technology,” said Roger Bayston, head of digital assets at Franklin Templeton. “We are enthusiastic about the opportunities this partnership will unlock for our firm and our clients.”
FOBXX was introduced in 2021 and uses a U.S.-registered fund to process transactions and record share ownership using a public blockchain as the system of record. Individual investors can download the Benji Investments mobile app on Apple and Android devices, while institutional investors can access the platform through the Benji Institutional web portal.
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