Franklin Templeton completed its purchase of 250 Digital and launched Franklin Crypto, using tokenized fund shares for part of the deal. The move gives the firm a dedicated crypto team.
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Franklin Templeton closed its acquisition of 250 Digital and launched a new division called Franklin Crypto. The $1.78 trillion asset manager used BENJI tokens – digital shares of its OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund – to pay part of the purchase price.
The deal, first announced in April, gives Franklin Templeton its own crypto investment team led by Christopher Perkins, former head of 250 Digital. Seth Ginns stays on as chief investment officer. Both came from CoinFund, which spun out 250 Digital earlier this year to focus on venture capital.
Franklin Crypto will target pension funds and sovereign wealth funds. It will offer actively managed strategies in liquid tokens and venture capital, plus structured products tied to blockchain infrastructure.
The use of tokenized fund shares in a merger is unusual. Franklin Templeton said a portion of the purchase price was settled with BENJI tokens. That means the seller accepted a claim on the money market fund rather than cash or stock.
Franklin Templeton has been pushing into digital assets for years. It filed for a Bitcoin ETF before the mainstream wave. In February it partnered with Binance to let institutional clients use tokenized money market shares as collateral. In March it teamed with Ondo Finance to list tokenized ETFs on blockchains. Most recently it filed for two ETFs that would redirect equity dividends into Bitcoin investments.
The firm's tokenized asset holdings have grown from $768 million in June 2025 to over $2.5 billion now, according to RWA.xyz. The broader tokenized asset market rose from $11.8 billion to $32.2 billion over the same period.
CEO Jenny Johnson has said blockchain technology challenges traditional fee models. The 250 Digital acquisition gives Franklin Templeton a dedicated crypto team and infrastructure, not just a product wrapper.
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