- Yesterday, Franklin Templeton’s tokenized money fund became the first of its kind to join Base (Coinbase’s Layer-2 network).
- Beyond Base, the Franklin OnChain US Government Fund ($FBOXX) is available on Stellar, Arbitrum, Aptos, Avalanche, and Polygon.
- $FBOXX’s multichain approach makes the treasury bill widely accessible and reduces transaction costs and speeds.
Franklin Templeton became the first tokenized money fund on Coinbase’s Layer-2 (L2) blockchain late last night (on October 31).
Its blockchain-powered recordkeeping system, Benji, is now live on Base, and it supports $FBOXX.
$FBOXX is already valued at a whopping $408M. By joining the largest L2 network by Total Value Locked (TVL), Templeton aims to boost the government money market fund’s appeal further.
Franklin Templeton Ranks Bronze in RWA Treasury Market
$FBOXX is the world’s first money market fund to explore blockchain technology for recording transactions and ownership.
Since its initiation in 2021, the fund has primarily invested in US government securities with minimal credit risks. It ultimately aims to provide capital safety and easy access to treasury bills while maintaining a $1 share price.
It’s the third largest treasury product in the $2.40B RWA market, hot on the heels of BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund ($BUIDL) and Ondo US Dollar Yield ($USDY).
$FBOXX’s Multi-Chain Approach for Stronger Demand
Beyond Base, $FBOXX is available on five other blockchain networks: Stellar, Arbitrum, Aptos, Avalanche, and Polygon.
By utilizing various networks, it can boost liquidity, enhance interoperability across financial systems, and provide stronger security measures – each of which helps garner investor interest.
Stellar is the fund’s primary network. It’s the second largest blockchain network in the treasury market with a $391M market cap. Ethereum’s mainnet (valued at $1.67B) leads the charge.
Still, Franklin Templeton taps into Ethereum’s top-rated L2 scaling solutions productively. Base dominates with a TVL of $2.45B, followed by Arbitrum ($2.36B) and Polygon ($1.17B).
The fund joined Polygon on April 26, 2023, to capitalize on its Ethereum-based (ERC-20) assets, which were valued at $260B at the time.
Further boosting its attraction and decentralization is its partnership with the Layer-1 (L1) blockchains, Aptos and Avalanche.
Aptos’ active addresses have spiked by 1,138.95% since last year (from 53.61K to 664.2K), signaling a favorable time for $FBOXX.
Templeton Raises the Bar in Tokenized Treasuries
$FBOXX sets a new benchmark in digital asset management by being the first-ever tokenized money fund to join Base.
Expanding its accessibility across various blockchain networks, Franklin Templeton pushes the boundaries regarding costs, security, and the very nature of making financial transactions in the tokenized treasury market.
As blockchain technology continues to gain traction in TradFi, $FBOXX’s multichain approach, and fractionalized RWAs might spur other financial companies to follow suit – especially when considering the RWA market is poised to hit $600B by 2030.
