Franklin Templeton has announced a significant enhancement to its offerings by adding the BENJI tokenized money market fund to MoonPay Trade, a platform designed specifically for institutional clients. This collaboration marks a new phase in the integration of traditional asset management with blockchain technology.
The partnership facilitates the exchange of stablecoins, including USDC and USDT, for the BENJI fund through MoonPay’s proprietary on-chain trading system. This development not only opens new avenues for institutional investors but also underscores an expansion of MoonPay’s institutional business beyond the realms of crypto, fiat, and stablecoin transactions.
In a recent statement, the companies expressed their intent to deepen their strategic relationship, emphasizing the potential for broader applications of their technologies. This arrangement enables BENJI holders to access stablecoin liquidity directly while providing institutions with a streamlined entry point to tokenized money market products. Franklin Templeton highlighted the benefits this setup could offer in terms of treasury management, portfolio rebalancing, collateral usage, and liquidity provision.
Sandy Kaul, who serves as the head of innovation and digital assets at Franklin Templeton, articulated the transformative potential of tokenized money market funds in enhancing liquidity and operational speed within digital asset networks. She noted that collaborating with MoonPay creates a reliable gateway linking stablecoin liquidity with tokenized fund investments.
MoonPay’s push into the institutional market was recently emphasized by the appointment of Caroline Pham, former acting chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, as CEO of MoonPay Institutional. Pham indicated that this partnership exemplifies how on-chain financial systems can boost capital efficiency and liquidity for institutions, showcasing the vital infrastructure necessary for institutional adoption of digital assets.
The launch of MoonPay Trade in late May represents a significant step forward in their offerings, providing enterprises access to over 200 blockchains through a single API. This platform supports trading and settlement operations, collateral movement, and tokenized asset transactions, all while adhering to compliance requirements.
Furthermore, MoonPay has made substantial investments in its infrastructure through various acquisitions, enhancing cross-chain capabilities, trading technology, and crypto key management.
Franklin Templeton has established itself as a leader in asset tokenization, managing approximately $1.74 trillion in assets. The company’s BENJI, officially known as the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund, debuted in 2021 as the first U.S.-registered mutual fund utilizing a public blockchain. Its efforts to integrate BENJI into additional crypto frameworks include collaborations with Payward (parent company of Kraken) for new tokenized investment products and Binance for off-exchange collateral utilization.
In a strategic move earlier this year, Franklin Templeton acquired 250 Digital, aiming to expand its ventures in the cryptocurrency space. The firm is also actively pursuing projects with Ondo Finance for ETF tokenization.
In alignment with its forward-thinking initiatives, MoonPay has further connected its on-chain trading access to cutting-edge technology like the ChatGPT app, allowing users to create crypto purchase links seamlessly within the OpenAI interface. The integration supports multiple cryptocurrencies and digital assets, enhancing user engagement and ease of accessibility to crypto markets.
