Franklin Templeton's BENJI token grew from $594M to $2.5B in 2026, quadrupling as institutional demand for tokenized Treasuries accelerates. Multi-chain distribution and stablecoin swaps drove adoption.
Alpha Score of 67 reflects moderate overall profile with strong momentum, weak value, moderate quality, strong sentiment.
Franklin Templeton's tokenized US government money fund has become the standout story in real-world asset tokenization this year. The firm's BENJI token, representing shares in the Franklin OnChain US Government Money Fund (FOBXX), grew from roughly $594 million in January 2026 to over $2.5 billion by July. That pace outstrips most DeFi yield farms.
The fund invests in US Treasuries, the least flashy asset class on Earth. Yet it has delivered more than 100% year-to-date growth.
Franklin Templeton launched FOBXX in April 2021, making it the first US-registered mutual fund to use a public blockchain for recording share ownership. The fund initially lived on the Stellar blockchain. It has since expanded to at least seven public networks, including Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche, Arbitrum, and Solana. That multi-chain approach has been central to driving adoption. Cumulative peer-to-peer transfer volume on the BENJI token exceeded $211 million as of March 31, 2026.
For context, Franklin Templeton manages approximately $1.74 trillion in total firm assets as of April 30, 2026. The BENJI fund represents a tiny fraction of that, roughly 0.14% even at its current size.
Franklin Templeton announced a partnership with DigiFT in May 2026 to improve accessibility for Asian investors. A month later, the firm linked up with MoonPay Trade to facilitate stablecoin swaps into BENJI tokens. Investors can now move from stablecoins directly into a tokenized Treasury fund without off-ramping to traditional finance first.
On July 1, 2026, Franklin Templeton executed an on-chain Treasury transaction via Tradeweb on the Canton Network. Tradeweb is one of the largest electronic trading platforms for fixed income, handling trillions in daily volume across institutional markets.
The read-through for the broader tokenized Treasury sector is straightforward. Franklin Templeton's growth validates the thesis that institutional capital will flow into on-chain government securities when the infrastructure is multi-chain and the redemption mechanism is seamless. Competitors like BlackRock's BUIDL fund and Ondo Finance's OUSG have also grown this year. None have matched Franklin Templeton's pace. The question now is whether the rest of the sector can catch up, or whether Franklin Templeton's first-mover advantage in multi-chain distribution has created a moat that will be hard to cross.
Drafted by a large language model from the source reporting linked above, then screened by automated publishing checks. It is not read by a journalist before publication. Some articles cite our Alpha Score. Verify prices and figures against the original source. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.