Franklin Templeton has introduced the launch of a tokenized U.S. greenback cash market fund for skilled traders in Hong Kong, marking the most recent enlargement of blockchain-based funding merchandise in the Asian monetary middle.
The Franklin OnChain U.S. Authorities Money Fund is registered in Luxembourg and represents the primary UCITS cash market fund natively issued on blockchain accessible to institutional {and professional} traders in Hong Kong. The fund invests in short-term U.S. authorities securities to generate revenue whereas preserving capital and sustaining liquidity.
“Wanting forward, we purpose to supply a retail-approved tokenized fund, topic to SFC approval, as a part of our broader efforts to democratise entry to funding options and foster a vibrant digital belongings ecosystem in the area,” mentioned Tariq Ahmad, head of Asia-Pacific at Franklin Templeton, in an announcement on Wednesday.
The fund makes use of Franklin Templeton’s proprietary Benji Know-how Platform for blockchain-integrated recordkeeping, providing enhanced transparency, safety, accessibility, and value efficiencies. The platform handles issuance, distribution, and servicing instantly on-chain, creating what the corporate describes as the primary end-to-end tokenized answer launched by an asset supervisor in Hong Kong.
OSL Wealth Administration is serving as a regulated distribution companion for the launch. “Hong Kong is turning into an institutionally trusted hub for digital belongings,” mentioned Brian Chen, head of OSL Wealth Administration. “OSL has been supporting progressive tokenized merchandise since inception.”
Franklin Templeton has participated in the Hong Kong Financial Authority’s Mission Ensemble sandbox since 2024, exploring use circumstances the place the fund’s token, designated “gBENJI,” delivers yield to traders whereas demonstrating interoperability with tokenized financial institution deposits.
The launch follows China Asset Administration (Hong Kong)’s debut of the ChinaAMC HKD Digital Money Market Fund in February, signaling rising momentum for tokenized belongings in the area.
Hong Kong has emerged as a regional chief in real-world asset (RWA) tokenization below a clearly outlined regulatory framework for digital belongings. In November, the HKMA outlined RWA tokenization plans below its Fintech 2030 technique, together with tokenized authorities bonds and Change Fund papers alongside improvement of an e-HKD stablecoin.
Latest initiatives embody a September pilot program by UBS, Chainlink, and DigiFT testing automated fund tokenization, and Mission Ensemble’s exploration of wholesale central financial institution digital foreign money for settling tokenized belongings between banks.
Franklin Templeton has been lively in digital belongings since 2018, creating blockchain expertise options and working node validators. The agency launched the world’s first U.S.-registered mutual fund utilizing blockchain expertise in 2021, adopted by the primary totally tokenized UCITS fund in Luxembourg in 2024 and the primary retail tokenized fund in Singapore in 2025.
The worldwide asset supervisor oversees roughly $1.6 trillion in consumer belongings and positions Benji as white-label infrastructure accessible to banks and asset managers for tokenizing securities.
