Asset
manager
Franklin
Templeton
said
Thursday
that
it
has
enabled
peer-to-peer
token
transfers
for
its
$380
million
tokenized
money
market
fund,
a
key
step
to
make
the
offering
more
interconnected
to
the
broader
digital
asset
economy
similar
to
rivals.
The
move
allows
investors
of
the
Franklin
OnChain
U.S.
Government
Money
Fund
(FOBXX)
to
transfer
the
fund’s
BENJI
token
between
each
other
without
any
intermediary.
The
BENJI
token,
available
on
the
Stellar
(XLM)
and
Polygon
(MATIC)
blockchains,
represents
shares
in
the
fund
that
holds
government
securities,
cash
and
repurchase
agreements
and
pays
out
a
steady
yield
to
token
holders.
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“Allowing
fund
shares
to
be
transferred
peer-to-peer
puts
Franklin
Templeton
on
the
cutting
edge
of
the
financial
sector
where
tokenized
real-world
assets
are
an
industry
staple
and
more
open,
transparent,
and
accessible,”
Jason
Chlipala,
chief
business
officer
of
Stellar
Development
Foundation,
said
in
an
email.
The
development
is
important
because
transferability
allows
to
expand
the
token’s
utility
in
the
future
such
as
trading
on
secondary
markets
or
using
it
as
collateral
for
loans
in
the
decentralized
finance
(DeFi)
platforms.
“Eventually,
we
hope
for
assets
built
on
blockchain
rails
[…]
to
work
seamlessly
with
the
rest
of
the
digital
asset
ecosystem,”
Roger
Bayston,
head
of
digital
assets
at
Franklin
Templeton,
said
in
a
press
release.
Tokenized
U.S.
Treasuries
are
at
the
forefront
of
the
race
to
bring
traditional
financial
assets
such
as
bonds
to
blockchain
rails
–
also
known
as
tokenization
of
real-world
assets.
The
market
for
tokenized
Treasuries
have
mushroomed
to
$1.2
billion,
growing
tenfold
since
early
2023,
as
digital
asset
investors
have
been
seeking
safe
yields
for
their
blockchain-based
cash
holdings.
BENJI,
launched
in
2021,
is
the
largest
and
oldest
of
them
with
a
$380
million
market
capitalization,
rwa.xyz
data
shows.
Newcomers
like
Ondo
Finance’s
tokens
and
BlackRock’s
new
BUIDL
fund
with
Securitize,
which
have
already
allowed
peer-to-peer
token
transfers,
carved
out
a
significant
market
share
and
are
closing
in
on
Franklin
Templeton’s
offering.