Franklin Templeton Expands Asia Reach With HashKey Tokenized Fund

TLDR

• Franklin Templeton partnered with HashKey Exchange to distribute its tokenized U.S. government liquidity fund in Asia.
• HashKey launched the grBENJI fund through its Earn channel for professional investors in Hong Kong.
• The fund mainly invests in short-term U.S. government securities, repurchase agreements, and U.S. dollar cash.
• Each fund share is represented by one BENJI token, while Franklin Templeton maintains the official shareholder record.
• HashKey said the partnership could expand into more tokenized products across Singapore, Tokyo, Dubai, and Bermuda.

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Franklin Templeton has partnered with HashKey Exchange to distribute its tokenized U.S. government liquidity fund to eligible investors in Asia. HashKey launched the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Liquidity Fund, called grBENJI, through its Earn channel on August 24.

HashKey limits the product to professional investors in Hong Kong and does not offer it to the general public. The fund mainly holds short-term U.S. government money market instruments, repurchase agreements, and U.S. dollar cash assets.

Franklin Templeton Pushes Tokenized Fund Access in Asia

Each share of the on-chain fund corresponds to one BENJI token. Blockchain infrastructure records ownership and transfers, while Franklin Templeton Investor Services keeps the official shareholder record and controls the private keys used in the system.

Franklin Templeton first launched the U.S.-registered fund, formally named FOBXX, in April 2021. Its BENJI platform now operates across several blockchains, including Stellar, Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Aptos, Base, and BNB Chain.

HashKey Adds Licensed Distribution Channel

HashKey Exchange holds Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission licenses for securities dealing and automated trading services. The company also runs a licensed virtual asset trading platform and restricts access in Mainland China, the United States, and other excluded markets.

HashKey CEO Haiyang Ru said the partnership responds to demand from professional investors seeking regulated yield products that use real-world assets. Franklin Templeton executive Chetan Karkhanis said both firms plan to explore more tokenized products across HashKey markets, including Singapore, Tokyo, Dubai, and Bermuda.

Tokenized Treasury Market Keeps Expanding

The wider tokenized real-world asset market has continued to grow. RWA.xyz data showed total RWA value at about $38.2 billion on August 23, compared with $20.6 billion a year earlier. Tokenized U.S. Treasury debt accounted for roughly $15.6 billion.

Franklin Templeton’s BENJI competes with products including BlackRock’s BUIDL, Circle’s USYC, and Ondo’s OUSG and USDY. The HashKey launch adds a regulated Hong Kong distribution point for an existing Franklin Templeton fund rather than creating a new investment product.

The launch also follows an August 12 SEC staff no-action letter covering certain custody requirements for specific Franklin funds using the on-chain money fund for cash management. The U.S. staff position remains separate from the Hong Kong distribution arrangement. It does not change the fund’s portfolio, investor limits, or underlying U.S. government asset exposure under this new partnership.

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Source: https://blockonomi.com/franklin-templeton-expands-asia-reach-with-hashkey-tokenized-fund/