Franklin Templeton enables P2P transfers for $380m tokenized treasury fund

Franklin Templeton enables peer-to-peer transfers for its $380 million money market fund via its BENJI token on Stellar and Polygon blockchains.

The Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX) investors can now transfer the fund’s BENJI token directly between each other without any intermediary.

The token, available on the Stellar (XLM) and Polygon (MATIC) blockchains, represents shares in the fund that holds government securities, cash, and repurchase agreements, providing a steady yield to token holders.

According to Jason Chlipala, chief business officer of Stellar Development Foundation, enabling peer-to-peer transfers puts Franklin Templeton at the forefront of the financial sector, promoting openness, transparency, and accessibility.

This development is important as it enhances the token’s utility. It could potentially facilitate trading on secondary markets or serve as collateral for loans in decentralized finance (defi) platforms.

Roger Bayston, head of digital assets at Franklin Templeton, emphasized the importance of integrating blockchain-based assets seamlessly into the broader digital asset ecosystem. Tokenized U.S. Treasuries represent a growing trend in bringing traditional financial assets to blockchain rails, with the market for such assets reaching $1.2 billion, according to rwa.xyz data.

BENJI, launched in 2021, holds the largest market capitalization among similar offerings, with newcomers like Ondo Finance and BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, with Securitize gaining ground by allowing peer-to-peer token transfers.